A Little Deeper in Love
by ManicFreedom
Summary: He thought she was absolute perfection. She thought he was an arrogant toerag. He wants in her affections and she wants him to stop being a bully. He has seven years to win her over. Seven years to fall a little deeper in love, every time she sees her. Seven years to tear that greasy git away from her. But with how impervious she remains of his charms, seven years may not be enough
1. First Year: Hogwarts

**First Year: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

In the heart of London lay the King's Cross Station where it was filled with all sorts of muggles—there were the working kind, the ones visiting a relative and those with weird accents. Or so, young Lily had thought. It was September the first and just like the man dressed in blue robes had told her to, she stood patiently at King's Cross Station with all her luggage packed and piled neatly on her trolley, awaiting his arrival. Feeling slightly nervous about her first day, she looked down at her ticket that read 'Platform 9 ¾' again to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her the last 43 times she's looked at the thing.

As she stood in between platforms 9 and 10, the 11-year-old continued to question the reality in her being here with her trunk stuff full of odd magical equipment and strange books that promised you knowledge on a thousand kinds of herbs and fungi. A magical place such as Hogwarts existed, right? A place where people would accept her.

 _Right?_

Her elder sister's words resurfaced from her memories and suddenly, she was in the field back at Spinner's End, looking down at Petunia from the top of the hill as her sister stomped furiously towards her. "You're a freak, Lily! I'm telling mummy! Come here, freak!" she yelled and yelled until everything in Lily's world seemed to come crashing down on her little shoulders. Lily's eyes stung at the memory of her hideous words. She wasn't a freak. _She wasn't!_

Someone touched her shoulder and she jumped, startled. She turned quickly to see thick longish black hair and a very familiar grin. _Oh, that's right. Severus was going to be there too. He would help her, they were friends, afterall._ "Severus!" she said in surprise before returning his grin with a shy smile.

"I just got here. Have you got everything from the list?" he asked her, glancing at her luggage pile. Her main trunk sat on the bottom of her trolley with her suitcases stacked and tucked in every possible way, but what caught young Severus' attention was the cage housing a cat with fur as dark as coal and eyes so green they seemed to glow. "I don't know why you bothered with a cat as your familiar, but I guess that's just so like you" he remarked with good nature, knowing how Lily had always fancied cats. "I, personally, went for the owl" he gestured proudly at his own cart with a frizzy feathered grey owl propped on top of his suitcase.

Lily's cheeks went slightly red at the comment. "I didn't think it mattered. Should I have asked for an owl instead?" she asked, suddenly feeling panicked.

Severus shrugged dismissively. "Don't matter, owls are just more convenient, is all" he put his hands on his trolley and wheeled it away from the pillar wall between platforms 9 and 10. "C'mon, the entrance is this way"

Lily fumbled with the ticket in her hand, "O-Oh but I was told to-to wait here, a man was supposed t-"

"I'll show you how to get to platform 9 ¾" Severus told her over his shoulder. Not wanting to be left behind, Lily shoved her ticket into her pocket and hurried after her dark-haired friend.

"Wait for me, Sev!"

…

When Severus told her to run into a wall, she thought he was trying to be funny. But when he denied it, Lily refused to budge an inch until he told her the real entrance to platform 9 ¾, and so Severus decided to demonstrate. Lily had smugly pushed her trolley aside to give him the room to line his trolley up with the wall, and then he was off, running at full speed towards the wall. She'd expected him to call his bluff at any moment, but her dark haired friend simply sped on with a determined look on his face. She opened her mouth to try and stop him but winced when she saw that he was going to collide with the wall; however, the crash did not come. Instead, he fazed through the bricks as if they did not exist, and he did not come crashing out from the other side.

Now, she stood where Severus had once been, peering around her belongings to see the wall looking more and more solid by the minute. Mustering as much courage as her little body possessed, Lily heaved in a breath and pushed off.

As soon as she stepped out from the wall and straight into platform 9 ¾, she felt like the whole world had shifted. It was just like when she had gone shopping in Diagon Alley, the exhilaration, the strangeness of the air—it was as if all the world's limits had been lifted away.

"I told you I wasn't bluffing." Severus's voice cut into her thoughts.

"I'm sorry for calling you a liar," she smiled, knowing that he wouldn't take it to heart.

"Let's board the train. You have your ticket, don't you?" he was about to push his cart away when Lily cried out.

"It's not in my pocket." Her face had gone slightly pale from panic. "I must've dropped it somewhere," the young redhead looked around on the ground.

Immediately abandoning his trolley and hurrying over to Lily's side, "I'll help you look for it," Severus told her. Suspecting that she might have dropped it on her way to the platform, Severus headed back through the magical barrier only to see a boy with unruly black hair bend down to pick a gleaming ticket from the floor.

"Give that here," he found himself saying as he approached the boy.

The boy looked up from the ticket to stare at him with arrogant hazel eyes and Severus immediately felt a sense of dislike towards the stranger. "That belongs to my friend, give it back," he told him firmly.

The boy raised an eyebrow before smirking "How do I know you're not lying?"

Peeved at the boy's audacity, he snapped back without thinking "I'm not!"

"Well, if you want it then tell your friend to come get it herself" he waved the ticket in Severus' face before pulling it out of the boy's reach when he made a lunge for it. Annoyed but not given up, Severus tried again for the ticket but could not best the other boy's reflexes as he ended up tripping on something and then came crashing down on the concrete with a thud.

"Severus!"

Two heads snap in the direction of the voice. Lily stood staring in disbelief as the scene unfolded before her eyes. That boy had deliberately tripped Severus to the ground, holding a ticket out of his reach as bait. _What a bully!_ Huffing, she hurried over to her best friend's side to help him to his feet. "Are you alright, Severus?" she asked, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Fine" Severus sniped, looking up to glare at the smug-looking boy with a renewed hatred.

Turning her attention towards the unidentified boy, she reached out a hand and stared at crossly at him. "I would like my ticket back, please," she said.

The boy blinked twice, at a loss for words, before ultimately lowering the ticket onto her outstretched hand. "Thank you," she told him, her voice softer now before she tugged Severus along with her towards the magical barrier. But Severus was not happy about how things ended between him and the arrogant brat.

…

While his parents had loaded his stuff onto the train, James wandered off to find something worth his while. After peeking over shoulders for the past 15 minutes, the only interesting thing he's seen was some boy's Nimbus 1700. So, he made the very adult decision to wander into the muggle world by himself, even though his parents had specifically told him not to. He couldn't wait to start his flying classes. Since his dad already taught him the basics, he was going to make the rest of the class look like fools. Whilst he was in the midst of thinking of all the right things to say when the other kids asked him for advice, he saw her.

A girl.

She was just a girl but she was terribly pretty, with long wavy red hair and pale skin. She stood in between Platform 9 and 10, looking down at a familiar-looking ticket. Was she a witch? Of course she was, she had a cat sitting on top of her luggage. She seemed perplexed. She must be trying to get to platform 9 ¾. Does she not know how to get past the magical barrier? Should he go and see if she needed help? But what would he say?

Without knowing, the boy was running his hands through his hair, ruffling it about and making it unrulier than it already was. He should just go up to her and tell her how to get to Platform 9 ¾, then she'll think he's awful clever and thank him. Yes, that's just what he'll do.

But things didn't quite work out for little James when the girl's dark haired companion decided to show up. He watched as she blushed and smiled shyly whilst the boy talked. Now he was bored _and_ annoyed. He'd been hoping to make a new friend but no one wanted to be friends with someone who considered that greasy haired loser as a friend anyway. He'd just go back to the platform and find his parents.

Just as he had walked around the pillar, so did they. And he ended up watching them chat animatedly for the next few minutes. At that point, he was blatantly staring at the red-haired girl, noticing how her expressions changed throughout the conversation. He was intrigued by her but he didn't understand why. Maybe it was because she was so pretty. She could very well be the prettiest girl he's ever seen. Not that he would to admit that. Girls were disgusting.

He noticed something black in his peripheral vision and realized that the boy was still with her. A sudden pang of jealousy stabbed at his heart but he brushed it off. What's he got to be jealous of, he didn't even know her. For all he knew, she could be sorted into Hufflepuff and he would be in Gryffindor and they would never even think of speaking to one another. He was much too brilliant to be speaking to a Hufflepuff.

So, when he saw her ticket drop out of her pocket as she disappeared through the magical barrier, James wasn't quite sure of what to do with it. Should he return it? Perhaps he should, it was only the right thing to do. He'd just picked it up when he heard a voice gruffly say, "Give that here."

It took a second for him to recognize the greasy haired boy. The girl's friend, apparently. If he gave it back now then it would save him the trouble of having to find her "That ticket belongs to my friend, give it back" James bristled at the mention of his _friend._ Instead of handing the ticket over, he decided to provoke the other boy.

He wanted to meet her, he wanted her to come and confront him and he thought the ticket to that was quite literally in his hands. That is, until the boy had tried to snatch it off him. Without thinking, he was evading his attempts and mocking him. He was no good for her. Someone as plain as him should never be friends with her. Out of malevolence, he had stuck out his foot to trip the unsuspecting boy to the ground. But as soon as he did it, he felt guilty. He was just about to offer a hand to the boy along with an apology when a melodic voice stole away his attention.

It was _her_. She sounded even better than he thought she would. And she was looking at him! It must be his lucky day because she was making her way towards him. He stood a little straighter as she approached. He panicked momentarily when he realized he had no words to greet her with, but soon realized that he didn't need them, for she strode past him completely to pull the greasy haired git off the floor.

 _Oh, right. Him._

He watched as her mouth moved and listened to her voice but not what she said. He was completely entranced by her presence. She turned and regarded him crossly, with eyes so green, everything around them seemed to look dull. "I would like my ticket back, please" she said, shortly and James forced his hands to comply, not caring how dumb he must look then.

When she uttered a "Thank you," he snapped out of it and could only watch as she disappeared through the barrier. That was not how she was supposed to thank him. _That was not how it was supposed to go at all._

…

The next time he saw her was when he was looking through the compartments for vacancy with his new friend, a rather loud and bold boy with wavy black hair and a charismatic smile. They'd met on the platform when they interjected at some kid boasting about how he was going to be sorted into the Slytherin House because of his father had been in Slytherin, as well as the father before him.

"Nothing good comes from Slytherin anyway!"

"Oh shut up, Malfoy!"

They'd shouted out at the same time whilst standing next to the other. And so, their friendship bloomed in the midst of ignoring the cries of a red-faced pureblood and debating over whether the Appleby Arrows or the Wimbourne Wasps were the better quidditch team before eventually agreeing that Hamish McFarlan of the Montrose Magpies was the best chaser the world has ever known.

James later learned that the boy he was idly chatting with, was in fact, the heir of the prestigious House of Black—Sirius Black. His parents didn't tell him much about the house of Black but he would often hear his father and mother speak of them in hushed tones when they believed him to be asleep in his room. Something to do about them rejecting the idea of allowing Muggleborns equal rights as Pure-bloods. He vaguely wondered if that was how his new friend felt about Muggleborns.

"Look, they're barely occupied. Let's ask if we can sit with them," Sirius's voice had snapped James' head back to the present but, before he could tell him it was a bad idea, the boy had already stuck his head through the doors and asked. He effectively shut his mouth when he heard a muffled, "D'you mind?"

He watched as _she_ smiled at his new friend and shook her head, he couldn't hear what she said but didn't need to when his friend pushed the door open and crashed inelegantly onto the empty seat across them. "Well get in here, James" he waved his hand inwards to exclaim himself.

Like an awkward toddler, James shuffled into the carriage with dread settling in the pits of his stomach as he tried not to think about her in his presence. However, before he could see it, he forced himself to turn around and busied himself with shutting the compartment door then sat down with a little too much force, still refusing to meet her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Sirius" he hears his friend say. Then a giggle. _Her_ giggle. When he looked up, he noticed that everyone in the compartment was looking at her and apparently, she did too. With rosy cheeks and pressed lips, she sank in her seat and found sudden interest in her fingernails.

"I-I didn't mean any offense by it. You have a very interesting name." she explained. "I'm Lily by the way" she added quietly. Sirius merely shrugged it off dismissively. When she noticed that her friend had yet to say anything she gave him a little nudge with her arm "And this is Severus."

Oh, he'd forgotten they were in the company of the slimy git. "James Potter," he purposefully boasted his last name, knowing that any magical folk would have heard of the name Potter no matter how young they were. Severus threw him a dirty look, knowing what he was playing at. However, before an argument stemmed, Sirius jumped into a conversation with him and Lily with Severus.

The two parties had spoken separately, intent on minding their own business for the most part of their trip— until James heard Severus mention the sorting hat.

"I hope we get sorted in Slytherin," he had told a very bright eyed Lily, who obviously had no idea what she would be getting into.

James snorted loudly and rudely, snatching the attention of everyone in the carriage. Severus shot him a heated glare, as if daring him to speak. So, he did.

"The house of Slytherin is filled with nothing but the sly and cold-hearted," he snooted in his high and mighty voice. He waited for Severus to snap back but instead, Sirius voiced out.

"Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" Sirius seemed genuinely curious.

James didn't even give his answer a second thought before answering "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad." He proclaimed, looking up as if posing nobly would prove his point. This time, it was Severus' turn to snort. "Got a problem with that?" he challenged, leaning forward on his seat and on the verge of standing up.

Severus rolled his eyes. "No, if you'd rather be brawny than brain."

But as soon as James had opened his mouth to snap back, the train slowed to a stop and the sharp hissing sound of released steam reach his ears. "We're here!" Lily exclaimed, her excitement was contagious and no longer were they concerned with petty debates over which house was superior, only eagerness to get started in Hogwarts as soon as possible.

…

When the sorting hat had been placed on his head, it'd been barely a second before a loud and firm " _GRYFFINDOR!"_ resonated throughout the hall, evoking cheers and claps from the left table in the middle. Obviously proud that they had a Potter on their side. With a proud smile, he caught Lily's eyes glimmering with… admiration? Absentmindedly, he hopped off the chair when her name had been called.

"Lily Evans"

 _Evans, huh?_

As he settled in his seat next to Sirius, he heard another Gryffindor being announced and his head snapped up to see an excited Lily bounding down the steps and towards their table. _The Gryffindor table._ He then proceeded to try and convince himself that the squeezing of his heart was for gaining a potentially useful member to earn points for their new house. Not because he now had her as a classmate.


	2. Second Year: The Marauders!

**Second Year: We Call Ourselves: The Marauders!**

He was with her again. That greasy haired git, _Snivellus_ Snape. What was it about that plain and gloomy Slytherin that entranced her so? She should be with someone extravagant, bold and daring, someone who was every bit as outstanding as she was and lived up to her fiery looks and pretty personality. She did not deserve gloomy, glum and greasy. Not in the slightest. It was that git's fault too, hasn't he learned anything from that Bat-bogey hex? Or that Sardine hex? Nothing good will come to him if he continued spend his time with Lily Evans. He needed to shove off, that's what.

It was their second year in Hogwarts, and even after an entire year of being surrounded by Gryffindor members, Lily was still hardly ever seen with anyone other than the Slytherin boy, Severus Snape. Or as James liked to call him; _Snivellus Greasy_. He was rather proud of the nickname as he didn't think there was another one quite as accurate—or insulting.

In the span of a year, James Potter had risen through the ranks of popularity at an alarming rate. After his little performance on the broom during their first class with Madam Hooch, he was immediately reserved a spot in the Quidditch team for the next year by Mobius McGonagall, whom he later learned was the reigning captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Apparently, being chummy with the older students seemed to have placed him on the pedestal with his peers—most of them, at least.

Lily Evans, exceedingly pretty and not to mention, the brightest witch of their year, was not impressed with James. Every time a professor called on her to answer a question, there would be nothing but confidence in her reply and he had yet to see her give a bad answer. If anything, the seniors should be kissing her feet for racking up the points for Gryffindor instead of his. Everyone liked him and yet Lily Evans would still look right past him in the corridors to smile at a certain greasy-haired Slytherin ponce. Oh, what he would give to learn a hex that would make the snivelling snake _disappear!_

Which reminded him of his current predicament. He'd earned himself a detention during Professor McGonagall's lesson when he, instead of turning rabbits into slippers, chose to conjure pigeons from his wand and have them rain bird droppings all over the classroom. This effectively evoked cries of disgust from the girls and appreciative claps on his back from the boys.

He had intended for them to be doves but he figured they were no different, they served the same purpose. Now, every time Lily Evans looked down at her poo-stained robes, she would only think of him. Not the most romantic way of getting her attention, or sanitary, but he reckoned if it would take her mind off slimy Severus, he'd no regrets.

But because he didn't know the vanishing spell for his mess, he was going to have to spend his lunch break scrubbing bird poo off the desk of classroom 1B as detention with McGonagall. She should've just taken points off Gryffindor and be done with it, Lily gave them loads to spare.

"James!" at the sound of his best friend's voice, James turned to see Sirius running towards him. "Where ya off to, Great Hall's the other way" he skipped on the last step so that he gained a little height off the ground to throw an arm around James' shoulder and force him to stumble forward. The little gesture caused a smile on James' face, he'd only known Sirius for a year and they already felt like they'd known each other for years.

"Classroom 1B" James answered sulkily, continuing down the corridor and towards his designated destination. "I have detention, remember?"

"Oh… well, that's too bad." Sirius answered, sliding his arm off of James' shoulder before his eyes caught sight of something worth his attention in the courtyard. "Wait here," he said and James came to an abrupt stop, watching as his friend bounded across the courtyard whilst trying to pull something out of his pockets. James' squinted his eyes, already having a vague idea on what the suspicious object was.

"Is that…"

After walking right up to Professor McGonagall, Sirius threw something on the ground that sent the good professor reeling backwards. She shouted something barely audible to James due to the distance before a smug looking Sirius came skipping back to him, carrying the faint scent of diarrhea on him.

"Bloody hell," James took a step back and covered his nose as soon as Sirius was close enough for him to smell the full effect of the putrid odour on him. "What _is_ that?" he choked out, his eyes watering.

"Dungbombs, I got them the other day at Zonko's. They're pretty amazing, aren't they?" he boasted proudly.

James waved at the air in front of him to try and diffuse some of the smell off their surrounding air supply. "Clearly. Why'd you throw them at McGonagall for?"

"I was trying to get myself a detention from her."

"What? What for?" He knew the only person who could match the number of times he'd been put in detention was Sirius but he didn't think they were actually competing for it.

"So we can ransack her classroom and jinx her equipment."

At this, James' couldn't help but smile. "And? Did she give it to you?"

"She didn't. She took 5 points off Gryffindor instead."

As the sarcastic comment rolled onto the tip of his tongue, James was forced to swallow his words when Sirius cut him off.

"But! When I asked her if I should spend detention with you she said 'Well you might as bloody well. I'll see you in detention with Mr. Black!' so what d'you reckon is in that classroom of hers. I heard she's been using it for her transfiguration classes since ever." Sirius nudged him in the side as they walked.

"Don't know, but its McGonagall so I wouldn't expect much of a haul from her classroom. She's way too uptight for any fun." James shrugged.

"You're right, but if we jinxed the equipment for the next group of students, d'you reckon she'll suspect us?"

"She's going to be in the room with us and if her next group of students complain about biting equipment immediately after our detention in that _very same room_ , don't you think she'll do more than just suspect us?"

"Ah, but fret not! Her next group of students are fifth years, which means they won't be using the equipment, they'll most likely be working on conjuration spells. The third years that come after them; however are going to be in for a surprise when their teapots start biting them. She'd have no proof."

"How come you know McGonagall's schedule?"

Sirius merely shrugged "It was on her office table and I memorized it while she was yelling at us for Sardine hexing that prat from Slytherin"

James stopped in his track and shot his friend a disbelieving look. When Sirius realized that James was no longer by his side, he turned to return his friend's look with confusion.

James grinned before he resumed walking. "You're ruddy brilliant, d'you know that?"

"'Course I am"

…

As they turned the corner to the classroom, James came face to face with none other than Lily Evans, looking rather put out, whose robes were also disappointingly clean of poo stains. _She must've used a Scourgify spell on herself._ Damn her superior intellect.

"Oh? Has Ms. Evans earned herself a detention as well?" Sirius commented smugly. Lily simply rolled her eyes and hugged her books tighter against her, not saying anything. James knew there was no way she'd have gotten a detention, but he was curious of why she was here, so he prodded.

"I didn't peg you for a troublemaker, Evans. We might get along after all."

"I didn't get detention!" she snapped all of the suddenly, her cheeks tinted red with embarrassment or anger, James couldn't tell, but he very much liked her flustered. "I've simply forgotten my textbook, is all" she added quickly before turning slightly away from, intent on ignoring them.

"Then how come you're out here instead of in there? You wouldn't happen to be waiting for me, were you?" James smirked, leaning in towards her to gauge her reaction. As expected, her cheeks coloured even more and she looked away from him.

"Stop teasing me, Potter. You know we're not supposed to enter a classroom without a teacher."

At that, James and Sirius looked at each other before promptly bursting into fits of laughter. "Oh Evans, you are such a goody-goody" James sniggered, clutching his stomach and trying to reel in his laughter. By now, Lily had turned completely red with embarrassment and her green eyes alit with fury.

"Unlike some people, I would like Gryffindor to win the house cup this year. Because of your stunt with Severus last year, we ended taking second to Slytherin." she snapped in a huff, trying not to let the embarrassment get the best of her. Especially since James Potter was as boastful and arrogant as they came, it would do her no good to stoop to their level.

"In case you haven't noticed, Evans. I helped win the Inter-house Quidditch Cup last year. I've earned back the amount of points I've lost from Gryffindor by twice the amount" James retorted. "Probably."

"You're weren't allowed to play last year. You were on the bench the whole time!" Lily argued back.

"Minor details." He brushed past her, waving his hand dismissively. The two boys had chosen to leave her behind and moved to push the doors of the classroom open, the abandoned redhead couldn't help but protest. They were supposed to wait for Professor McGonagall's arrival before they could enter the classroom. "Oh don't be such a prig, Evans. Get in here." Potter told her before promptly pulling her into the room despise her blatant protest.

A sliver of guilt instantly wormed its way into her heart when Lily stepped into the Professor-free classroom. She really didn't want to get into trouble; however, when she tucked her book against her chest and turned to run out of the classroom, his voice stopped her.

"Is this your book, Evans?" she turned around to see him leisurely sitting on her desk that now been thoroughly covered in dried bird droppings as he casually flipped through the contents of her textbook. "Can I copy your extra notes? I hadn't bothered paying attention to McGonagall's lesson today"

Lily marched up to him and snatched the book right out of James' hand. "It's _Professor_ McGonagall. And why bother? You're already top of the class" she added her book into the stack of books she's holding in her arms and frowned at him.

"Me? Top of the class? Hardly, I don't even do her homework," James brushed off her supposed compliment and hopped off the desk.

"That spell you used earlier in class was a Bird-Conjuring Charm taught to the 6th years for their N.E. . It is hardly anything 2nd years such as us should be capable of doing"

"Really?" James feint surprise, "I hadn't noticed," he shrugged and ran his hand through his hair to further mess it up. Lily could already feel the pride and arrogance rolling off of him in waves.

"You-" she huffed, her chest puffing and eyes glimmered with knowing. She knew exactly what he was playing at, the arrogant, boastful, pompous _arse_! Without another word, she stormed out of the classroom, forgetting her worries of being caught in a room without a teacher.

James watched as she left, grinning as he replayed the way she fumed and scowled at him in his head. She was unbearably fun to mess with. Moments later, the smug Gryffindor was startled out of his thoughts when he heard something clatter to the floor. "I've found the teapots!"

Before McGonagall promptly entered.

…

Tomorrow on the 31st of October 1972, would mark the first year anniversary in which the first year boys of Gryffindor had decided to team up with the goal of becoming mischief legends, whose names will go down in Hogwarts' history for generations and generations to come. However, instead of planning for their grand prank for the Hallowe'en feast that's going to be held in the Great Hall tomorrow evening, a trio of boys found themselves in quite a pickle.

"Do you think he could be?" A nervous voice asked, sounding a little frightened.

"It's starting to look that way, innit?" This time, a firmer voice had answered sounding almost sarcastic.

"We'll just go ask him" a smooth confidence voice said.

"B-But he's never talked to us about it"

"If our guess is right, he won't deny it. He may have been hiding it from us but he's never lied"

"You're right, James. Let's hop to it then, nothing good's going to come from us sitting here and gossiping like birds anyway. Get off your arse, Peter"

"Nothing bad will happen either" the last boy in the room muttered under his breath.

"Pete!"

"Alright, alright!"

And so, as the rest of the students were busying themselves with preparation for the Halloween celebration, three gryffindor boys marched their way to the hospital wing like men on a mission. No one spared them a second glance, being too excited over discussing prospective events and sweets for the greatly anticipated night.

…

He felt like crap. Had it always felt like this a day before the full moon? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his friends were probably busy planning their grand prank to make every mischievous act ever done in Hogwarts look like a badly timed farting chair jinx and he wasn't included. He had been looking forward to it ever since they talked about it in the train compartment, but as the date approached and he crossed checked it with his calendar, he realized that Hallowe'en fell on a full moon this year so he couldn't participate in their prank.

Rooming with James, Sirius and Peter had been the best thing that's ever happened to him. Being surrounded by people who knew of your condition growing up, you tend to grow tired of their pitiful glances and the way they walked on eggshells around you, as if a smallest thing could upset you. It wasn't like that with his new mates, they treated him with callous comments and basically like any other person in the world. That was just what he needed from them— _from anyone_.

He groaned, turned over to lie on his side and pulled his blanket over his head. He wanted to be in Gryffindor tower with his friends, talk about the Hallowe'en feast like everyone else, he wouldn't even mind if he had to be stuck with the Slytherins for a whole day, anything but be holed up in the hospital wing and left alone to dread the arrival of the full moon. Why couldn't he be normal? The tear stung as he squeezed his eyes closed. He's already done this a million times, crying has never got him anywhere.

"Remus? Remus, you in here?" that sounded like Sirius.

Sniffling back his tears, he wiped his hand over his face before throwing the covers off of him. "Sirius?" Not just him, apparently James and Peter was also paying him a visit. "What are you lot doing here? What about the Hallowe'en prank?" he asked, confused.

"Thing is, we've got something to ask you" Sirius began in all seriousness.

Swallowing, Remus looking back and forth his friends. "W-What is it?"

"Peter, ask him" Sirius nudged Peter's arm, however the boy simply reeled away from the touch as if it burned him.

"M-Me? Why should I be the one to-"

However, before an argument could break out, James stepped forward with the question, taking note of their privacy with the lack of people in the wing. "Remus, are you a werewolf?"

If it were possible, Remus had paled even further. He hadn't expected that. No, he knew they would eventually find out about it but he didn't think it'd be so soon or expect them to question him about it so straightforwardly. Denying it would be futile now since they had guessed so accurately. He looked up at their expectant eyes, feeling his throat close up in fear. In the end, he only managed to mumble a defeated, "Yeah."

"Oh" was all James had said.

It was over now, they would treat him like a freak and look at him with the same eyes, filled with unnecessary pity and wariness. He didn't need that from them, if they decided to tell the rest of the school, it would be the end of him. He wouldn't even be able to make new friends. But he couldn't find it in him to burden them with keeping his secret. He would be all right.

"Wicked!" Sirius had cried. "That's bloody nifty. I've always wanted to be a werewolf, or a big dog of some sorts. Something that screams _rebel_ , y'know what I mean?" Sirius was looking at him. Was he expecting him to say something? They should be telling him that they couldn't be friends anymore, not telling him about some childish fantasy of wanting to become something he never will be.

"Does it hurt when you transform?" Peter had asked him meekly. But as he opened his mouth to say something, James had interrupted.

"I've got it!"

Peter squeaked at the suddenness of James' exclamation "G-Got what?"

"Fireworks!"

The three boys stared at him blankly.

"For Hallowe'en"

Sirius looked bemused "We want to sabotage Hallowe'en, James. Not help them celebrate it!"

James ignored the comment and continued, his eyes sparking with inspiration and excitement as he explained his plan to them. In the midst of their planning, Remus found himself giving input as well. Before he knew it, everyone had grabbed a chair and huddled close to his bed, leaning over and chatting with one another as if nothing had changed "Stop!"

Three heads turned to look at the only person in bed. "Did you not like the sprouting leg idea?" Sirius asked quietly, he personally thought it was a brilliant idea.

Blinking twice, Remus shook his head before finally bring his mouth to say the words "Why are you still here?" he asked them, looking almost afraid of the answer.

"What do you mean? We're planning for the prank, of course" Sirius had said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I mean, you know that I'm a werewolf now. Shouldn't you be— I don't know, worried? Afraid? Something? You're roommates with a werewolf."

"Are you annoyed that we didn't find your secret brilliant? Because I did," Sirius gestured to himself then pointed at James and Peter who were sitting across the bed. "It's those two who didn't think your Lycanthropy was cool."

"I thought it was bloody wicked too!" Peter snapped back.

"You lying ponce! You were so reluctant to leave the room when we decided to come visit him!" Sirius physically pointed at him accusingly.

"No one thinks you're any different, Remus" James has said finally. "If anything, we're just annoyed that we can't do anything to help you get through it, mate" he shrugged

Surprised by James' compassion and grateful for it, it was from that day onwards that Remus had decided that from then on, he would forever be indebted to them. "Sorry about this, guys" he muttered quietly.

"No worries, mate!" Sirius patted him on the back with more force than necessary. "We'll be sure to prank the shit out of this Hallowe'en in your honor! They won't know what hit them!" he proclaimed loudly.

"Of course they won't know who hit them because we haven't decided on a name for ourselves," James added thoughtfully.

"How about the Prank Gang!" Peter suggested.

"Don't be daft, that's a terrible name. What about The Mischief Brothers" Sirius said.

"The Brothers in Mischief?" James perked up.

"They-who-leave-no-one-unpranked"

James and Sirius had stopped their brainstorming to shoot Peter an unimpressed look.

"Really?"

"W-What?"

"What about the Marauders?" Remus suggested quietly.

Quickly thinking through the definition of the word, the three boys shot him a quizzical look. "In what way?"

Remus shrugged "We're sort of that. In an adventure seeking, kitchen raiding, trouble making sort of way." There was a pause "Also, I just thought it sounded cool" _Cooler than what you lot have in mind, at least._ He added mentally.

The biggest grin spread across his friends' faces as soon as he looked up. "Then it's settled! We'll call ourselves, _The Marauders_!" Sirius stood from his seat and thumped his chest for effect.

…

That night, as Sirius, James and Peter were preparing the pranking goods by jinxing the pumpkins stashed in kitchen for tomorrow's decorations. Peter had made a mistake in the charm. Instead of rigging the pumpkin to shoot up skywards upon hearing the line 'Bollocks', He had made them grow legs and duplicate instead. Prompting Sirius and James to help him give chase to his rampaging pumpkins. In the midst of the chaos, Sirius had accidentally stubbed his toe on one of the table legs and swore the right word at the wrong time, causing the simultaneous explosions of all the rigged pumpkins in the room and spraying the entire kitchen with pumpkin innards.

Peter had slipped and crashed on his back, effectively knocking the breath out of him. As Sirius and James turned to try and help him, they were suddenly attacked by angry, kicking pumpkins.

That was how Remus had found himself waking up in the hospital wing after his full moon transformation in the company of his three, very rowdy and equally injured mates. Nonetheless, it was safe to say that the first ever Marauder Grand Prank had ended up in complete and utter failure. Oh… well, there was always next time—they will always be a next time.

 _Right?_

* * *

 **TBC**


	3. Third Year: Best Mates and Enemies

**Third Year: Of Best Mates and Enemies**

It was awfully quiet today, and not just because she was in the library. Ever since lunch ended, Hogwarts seemed devoid of life. Even in the Gryffindor common room, which was usually packed full on Saturdays such as today was empty. As she turned the next page of her book, she was struck with a sudden thought. "It's not the Quidditch playoffs between Slytherin and Gryffindor today, is it?" Lily leaned over to whisper to Severus, who was busying himself with his Potions essay.

"There was something like that" he mumbled, preoccupied.

"Didn't you say you wanted to watch?"

"That was before Professor Slughorn assigned the essay" he replied casually, still not looking up from his essay. Also, he had decided to stop going to those things ever since James Potter had become a permanent part of the team. The arrogant prick did not need another reason to tease him.

' _Enjoyed my show on the pitch, did you?'_ James Potter and his moronic friends had cornered him in the courtyard the other day to poke fun at him because they had seen him watching Quidditch practice, _'Bet you wish you could ride a broom'_ his mocking words rang deep and clear in his head.

It wasn't like he _couldn't._ Every first year was given basic knowledge on broomstick flying and from there on, anything you do with a broom was from your own practice and skill. But no matter how hard Severus tried, he could never seem to find ease in handling a broom like James had done on their first flying class. He eventually gave up practicing for fear that the Marauders might catch him, they would never shut up about it then.

"But that essay is not due until next Friday. Surely you can leave it aside for just one more day?" she sounded hopeful, Lily never suggested procrastination to anyone. Could she actually be interested in the match?

"You wouldn't perhaps _want_ to go and watch the game, would you?" Severus finally looked up from his parchment to look at her suspiciously. Something Potter had said to him after catching him at the practice game came back to him _'Bring your lady mate with you next time, will you?'_ he had grinned his arrogant grin and mocked him as if he were the King of the world. He hadn't thought much into it, allowing it to bounce off of him like any regular insult, but now that Lily had reminded him of it. His only girl mate would be Lily, and Potter never seemed to leave them alone whenever he was with her. It was unsettlingly curious.

"I _am_ a tad curious of the result. This is the deciding match for Gryffindor after all," the redhead replied meekly

"Are you sure you don't just want to watch Potter and his excessively fancy flying on the pitch?" Severus retorted bitterly before turning back to his homework.

"That's not even funny, Sev. You know he doesn't need any more air going into that inflated head of his. I'm surprised he can even lift off the ground, what with all that excess ego weighing him down."

"There's no competition for today's match anyway. Slytherin's going to win for sure this time." Severus muttered. Lily took no offense in that, she wasn't much of a Quidditch follower, anyway.

"Why so?" she asked, just for the sake of it. And also because it seemed like Severus wanted to tell her exactly why _his_ house was the better one.

"Some pure-blood aristocrat on the Slytherin Quidditch team had his father buy Nimbus 1700s for everyone, compared to the old Cleansweep models that the Gryffindors use, theirs are much faster."

To his surprise, Lily giggled. "Even so, the Slytherins can't _buy_ a new set of skills. I don't think a new set of broomsticks would drastically increase Slytherin's chances with Gryffindor" she reasoned thoughtfully.

Suddenly bitter that Lily was suddenly praising Gryffindor's quidditch team, he wondered if she realized that she had just indirectly paid James Potter a compliment. James Potter, the arrogant, boastful, trouble-making, king of the twats. His sworn adversary.

"Though, I suppose we could just have to wait for the results. I suddenly feel like doing my Potions homework as well. D'you have an extra quill, Severus?" she spoke absentmindedly as she closed her book and moved to return it to its rightful shelf. This was alright, spending time with Lily like this was all he needed.

…

As it turned out, Lily's faith in her House's Quidditch team was not for naught. James Potter had scored the last goal before Slytherin's seeker, Regulus Black had caught the snitch. However, even with an extra 150 points, Gryffindor had led by 10 points thanks to James' last goal. Because of that, it felt like every Gryffindor in the school, whether it be his junior or senior, had come to praise him. All except one.

There was always that one exception. _His lovely redheaded exception_. The beautiful yet persistently stubborn Lily Evans had yet to come about with her feelings for him. He was just about to go find her after the crowd had died down around him when he spotted her in the corridors, walking side by side with none other than Severus Snape. Their shoulders brushed with every step and she occasionally turned to look at him as she spoke to him about god-knows-what. This was blasphemy! He had just won the Inter-house Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor, just about to grace her with his presence and yet he found her with… with _that_! Fraternizing with the enemy! This was an act of treason!

Someone had apparently noticed him standing gobsmacked in the middle of the corridor and slapped him encouragingly on the back "You should be celebrating, mate! We just won the Inter-house cup!" Sirius cheerfully joined him, and when James didn't budge an inch, he traced his best friend's line of sight to the chummy dysfunctional duo of friends. It was no secret within the Marauder circle that their James had a massive crush on the Gryffindor model student; the ever rule-loving, Ms. Lily Evans. "Shall we mess with them?" Sirius nudged James' arm, and this effectively gained the quidditch hero's attention.

"Go for it"

Lily was in the middle of telling Severus the reason why the antidote for common poisons would not be effective in counteracting the Venomous Tentacula juice because although the poison itself was not a fatal one, that did not mean it classified as a common poison in Potions terms. Just as she was waiting for Severus to retort, like he always does, something, or rather _someone_ had rudely bumped into her shoulder in the midst of making a path between her and Severus, causing her grip on her books to falter but just as she managed to stop them from falling, someone else crashed into her arm with less force. She heard the telltale sound of heavy books hitting the concrete floor and looked up just in time to see James Potter laughing at them with Sirius by his side.

She ignored them, turning to help Severus pick up his books before turning her head to shoot James her most annoyed glare. But there was no guilt in James' eyes, instead one corner of his mouth had tugged upwards to present his signature smirk of conceit. She should've known it would be them and from the looks on their faces, she didn't think they were going to apologize for that. Driven by anger, she stalked up to their sniggering selves after helping Severus with his books and snapped angrily in James Potter's face.

"You're a right foul git, you know that?" despite her harsh words and menacing look, her voice was soft and tender. _Like her personality._ James had thought.

"Maybe you lot wouldn't have gotten hit if you had been paying attention to more important things," James countered snootily.

Lily caught the underlying meaning in his words and she turned a rosy shade of red from fuming. "Like what? _You_?" she scoffed "Give it a rest, Potter. You just don't like the fact that I'm not kissing for feet for Gryffindor's win like everyone else. Well get this, whether you like it or not, the world doesn't revolve around that big head of yours even if your ego is as big as the sun!" by the time she had finished yelling at him, her face was considerably closer to his.

Without another word, she turned sharply on her heels, effectively whipping James' face with her fiery red hair. Despite her harsh tone and insults, James found himself unable to process anything pass the glowing green color of her eyes as she glared at him and the smell of her shampoo. Sirius had once again broken him out of his Lily-trance by chuckling next to him and they both watched as the Gryffindor and Slytherin walked away in the opposite direction, still together.

"Well, that's that. How do you feel now, mate?" Sirius asked him.

His dark haired cousin simply answered with a grin "Loads better" for he knew for a fact that Lily was probably complaining about him to Snivellus as they spoke.

…

Of all times the Slytherin members decided to take notice of him, it had to be now when he's finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with Lily. She had been pestering him about it since the start of third year despite him constantly telling her that there was nothing there for them. However, she had insisted, claiming that she's seen her roommates of Gryffindor tower come in with the most interesting confections and shared some with her. Since then, she's been dying to find the store that made the holy sweets.

They were cornered whilst on their way to the entrance of Hogsmeade and the worst part was when they approached in a group. They were all seniors from the looks of it, Severus didn't know most of them, only that their ringleader seemed to be the sixth year: Narcissa Black; the younger sister of the infamous Bellatrix Black and her seventh year boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy; a vain and cruel child of the prestigious Malfoy family. His cousin, Vanus Malfoy was supposed to be in their year but when he had failed to be sorted into Slytherin on his first year, his parents withdrew him from the school. Rumors say that he was currently studying in The Durmstrang Institute.

Although the year groups were usually rather segregated in Slytherin, as a member of the house himself, Severus was not oblivious to the cruel tyranny that these notorious duo were known for. They spoke ill of anyone short of pure-blood heritage and had an especially strong distaste for muggle-born students, which placed Lily at risk of being subjected to their bullying. Now that they've been spotted together, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, Severus was sure that they would undoubtedly play a large role in making his life in Slytherin a living hell. Especially since their hate for Gryffindor increased ten folds after Slytherin's embarrassing quidditch defeat.

"Well, what do we have here? A traitor and his mate?" Lucius' tone was severe and filled with disdain. Lily and Severus both stiffened and resisted the urge to shuffle backwards as it would only give them more reasons to torment them. "An unlikely pairing but an eyesore nonetheless" Lucius commented with no filter of his distaste.

"Interrupted something, have we?" Narcissa sneered. Her beautiful face, Lily thought, contorted with the ugliest expression. Out of blind panic and instinct, the redheaded Gryffindor reached out a hand to snag Severus' robe sleeve. "Oh no, Lucius. I do believe we've frightened the two dearies." She looked at her significant half with the falsest look of concern Lily has ever seen.

Lucius regards Severus with cold, calculative eyes. "Slytherin has no place for filthy mudblood-loving-"

Almost after Lucius uttered the forbidden word, Lily heard the sound of a spell being launched and felt it fly past her head to hit Lucius squarely on the forehead, effectively halting his sentence. Narcissa, on the other hand looked positively scandalized with her slack jaw and widened eyes. Moments later, Lucius' head began to swell to impossible sizes but with magic, nothing was impossible.

"Not another word, Malfoy or I'll do a hell lot worse."

…

James hadn't thought about the consequences when he hexed the silver haired Slytherin prefect with a Head-swelling Hex. In fact, the only thing in his head at the time were the incantation words _Engorgio Skullus_ and his anger towards the group of Slytherins.

"What are you doing, James!" he vaguely heard Peter squeak from his side.

Indeed, even with the arrival of his mates they were sorely outnumbered by the Slytherin seniors. Not to mention their group mostly consisted of sixth and seventh years. In terms of power, they would be over shadowed as well. But James haven't a shred of worry for his own safety, he was much too angry for that. How dare the pompous supremacist twat refer to her as such when she was ten-times the wizard he was. Lucius Malfoy would pay for it, it didn't matter how many enemies he made. He knew he was fast enough with his reflexes and smart enough to cast a shielding charm. The Slytherins could all go to hell.

And chaos followed.

Harmless bat bogey hexes and melofors jinxes eventually turned to disarming charms and stunning spells on Slytherin's end. James had dueled alongside Sirius and Remus whilst Peter hid in the sidelines, throwing poorly aimed hexes at the opposition from time to time. He had to thank Remus later for making them practice the shielding charm in the privates of their dorm.

" _What_ is going on here?"

Just as James had ducked a potentially dangerous jinx, a loud voice resonated throughout the walls of the corridor, effectively evoking a ceasefire. He turned to see Lily and Severus following behind a very angry Professor McGonagall. A weight seemed to have been lifted off his chest at the knowledge of Lily unharmed but annoyed that Mr. Greasy was in similar condition.

"That went well" Sirius laughed next to him despite having leeks sprouting from his ears while Remus simply groaned at the idea of another detention. Except this time, they would potentially have to serve it with a group of very angry Slytherins.

And yet, James did not regret his decision for a second. Even if it did cost him his trips to Hogsmeade for the rest of the year. It was a different case for his mates, however.

* * *

 **TBC**


	4. Fourth Year: James Potter

**Fourth Year: James Potter—The World's Biggest Prat**

 _Slytherin Captain Vanity has the quaffle, but the Gryffindor chasers refuse to let Slytherin's plan play out- What's this? Vanity dives for the ground with Captain James Potter right on her tail! Who will pull up first?— Vanity pulls up and Potter seizes the quaffle from her possession and ducks into a roll to dodge a well-aimed bludger by Wilkes! The Slytherin chasers have gone after the quaffle- Oh no! Lucinda Talkalot has been hit by a bludger! Nice shot by beater Sirius Black! GRYFFINDOR SCORES!_

Opening matches quidditch matches were always the most exciting, that along with the closing matches. Despite not being a great fan of the sport, Lily occasionally indulges her curiosity for quidditch and show up to observe the matches. Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was beginning to see why Professor McGonagall had chosen James Potter to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. The boy was born to fly. He commanded speed with grace she didn't think he had and power she didn't question. The redhead Gryffindor had taken one look at him and couldn't seem to notice anything else on the pitch. There was no doubt that James Potter knew exactly what he could do and it was most probably the reason why he was an arrogant toerag 95% of the time.

Shaking the unnecessary thoughts from her mind, it took actual effort for Lily to focus on the course of the game but despite her determination not to seek out Potter's presence on the pitch, it was proving to be quite a chore as attention seemed to follow him on the field. The more she watched him play the less she cared about the outcome of the match because he seemed to be having a genuinely great time and his joy was overwhelmingly contagious. Especially when he circled the pitch on his broom to rile up the crowd when Gryffindor pulled off a particularly difficult manoeuvre.

James Potter wasn't just a leader. He was an entertainer. In one of the rounds, Lily felt the slightest zing when she felt like their eyes had met. His charisma and presence had everyone to their feet and cheering for him. He was really was quite brilliant. _Whenever he's not being an arrogant toerag, that is._

…

She came. She was there in the Gryffindor stands! But she hadn't been there when the match had started. How long had she been there? He didn't see her when the match started, he always looked for her before a game. So that meant she came halfway into the match, he vaguely wondered if she had seen his tumble loop manoeuvre. She would be sure to fall in love with him if she had seen _that_. The sharp beep of the whistle had James snapping his mind back into the game.

With a new burning determination to show the crowd—mostly Lily Evans— how fantastic he looked when he was winning, James shot forward on his broom with intense power and accuracy as he swept up alongside the Slytherin 3rd year chaser who had the quaffle and nicked it out of his possession. He felt another Slytherin shove against his exposed side, effectively sandwiching him in between two enemy chasers as they groped and scratched to regain the quaffle back into their possession.

Tightening his grip on his broom and the quaffle, James braced himself as he pulled sharply at his broom and felt the braking charms being pushed to the very limit at his very extreme manoeuvre. Unable to follow his sudden change of speed, the two Slytherin chasers continued to shoot forward as James slipped out from between them and began his steep ascend to the top of the pitch, once there his eyes scanned the scene for his player, there was only one Slytherin chaser left which meant one of his chasers were open.

Spotting Gordon Johnson with Sirius close by, he threw the quaffle to the eager 5th year, as he expected, the remaining Slytherin chaser attempted to intercept it but Sirius had sent the incoming bludger hurtling towards him and nearly knocked him off his broom. Gordon passed it to Thomas Wood and the two dodged and weaved through a flurry of bludger attacks before Florence Shacklebolt intercepted to redirect the bludger's attention to some approaching Slytherins and allowed the chasers to fall into formation. They flew in a V shaped formation with Thomas, who was in possession of the quaffle in the middle. One of the Slytherin beaters had flown over to their keeper, determined to stop them from scoring.

Thomas raised the quaffle and made a show of throwing it before passing it to Gordon who did not catch it, but rather redirected the direction of the quaffle towards James. Swinging his broom to the side, the young quidditch captain quite literally swept the quaffle into the hoop with the side of his broom, feeling smug as he watched the keeper and beater tumble about trying to stop it. The crowd roared at the top of their lungs and James couldn't help but puff his chest out in pride before looking towards the stand where he had last seen Lily to seek herapproval. Only to find that she had disappeared.

Bollocks.

…

Later that night Lily returned to a rowdy party in the Gryffindor tower revolving around what seemed to be James Potter and his inflated head. The older students were chugging beer and mead whilst some of the younger ones watched and cheered; or at least she hoped they didn't indulge. The whole common room smelled of sweat and alcohol and Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust. It wouldn't be the first time she had stumbled upon a Gryffindor celebration party but she has never stayed to see it through, always choosing to disappear into her room before Professor McGonagall showed up to break them apart. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in a mess of alcoholic drinks and drunken seniors.

She hated the fact that she needed to pass through the common room in order to get to her dorm room. Why couldn't Godric Gryffindor have made it closer to the entrance? Realizing that cursing the founders was not going to bring her dorm room any closer to her, Lily took a deep breath and clenched her fists firmly at her sides, mentally preparing herself for the drunken slurs and overenthusiastic cheering.

While she tried to make herself scarce, she stumbled upon a loopy looking Sirius. "Well if it isn't Ms. Top-of-the-class. Fancy seeing you here!" he shouted over the noise. Lily had intended to ignore him like she usually did with the rest of the Marauders, except for Remus. She liked Remus, he was thoughtful and polite when they had been paired together for their Defense against the Dark Arts assignment. Sirius on the other hand, who had more than proven his cruel sense of humor to her when she saw him hex a Slytherin second year with a particularly strong Stinging hex for no apparent reason, intimidated her.

However she was stopped by the appalling smell that had stemmed from him. It wasn't a bad odour in that sense, however the scent on him had raised alarms in Lily's mind. "A-Are you drinking, Black?" she asked, appalled, despite already knowing the answer from the conspicuous plastic cup in his hand. He was not even close to being of age!

Sirius feint a look of confusion before glancing down at his 3rd refill of beer. "No, I'm indulging. Harmless taste-testing, Evans. Lighten up" he grinned at her. Lighten up? _Lighten up!_ His words were slurring and he was already swaying on his feet! They were barely 14 and he was already indulging himself with alcohol? However, before she could open her mouth to protest, someone had silenced the room with an announcement.

"A toast!" the voice seemed to be projected from above and Lily made the awful mistake of not running up the steps of her dorm then. Because as James Potter grinned down at her from the shoulders of Frank Longbottom and Thomas Wood with haze in his eyes, she had the vaguest feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach. She should've listened to her conscience then.

"To Lily Evans, for being the fairest of all maidens!"

The room erupted into cheers and wolf whistles of such volume, McGonagall was sure to storm in soon. However, Lily could barely hear them. People surrounded her, some clapped her on the back and others squeezed her shoulder but she didn't feel it. The only thoughts going through her head were how much she wanted to disappear before she drowned in her own embarrassment. While James Potter completely relished in the public's attention, Lily Evans did the exact opposite. She hated it. Complete and utterly hated it. And she wouldn't have known if James Potter hadn't been such an ignoramus.

Before she could react, she had been hoisted onto the shoulders of two seniors as they transported her like a queen in a palanquin until she came face to face with the arrogant prat known as James Potter. "Who wants to see me kiss Lily Evans!" he shouted to the crowd and they began to chant. _Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss-_

When James turned back to her, he was wearing the smuggest look on his pretty little face as he ran his hands through his dark, tousled locks. The motion snapped Lily wide awake and fully aware of her surroundings. The chants, the hoots, the attention and then came Potter whose insufferable ego only continued to grow and it was beginning to suffocate her. They inch them even closer to each other and he reaches over to tug her closer, whispering in her ear as he did so and she could smell the alcohol in his breath. "C'mon Evans, don't be a prig and ruin the moment. You know you want me to." he told her.

The barely lit firewood in the common room fireplace abruptly ignited ablaze, sending the students near it reeling away from the sudden heat. And then came a sound that resembled exploding lightbulbs as every glass bottle of alcohol in the room, whether it had been opened or not, swiftly erupted, startling a good number of students, a few girls had shrieked in surprise but the event had effectively silenced the room.

"Put me down" a voice mumbled softly.

After the mood had taken a nosedive, James seemed to have sobered up and was now looking at her strangely. What was that? Concern? Mockery? Disappointment? She couldn't tell. But what she did know was that she wanted everything to go away, she wanted _him_ to go away. Lily jerked her arms away from his hold and shouted at the top of her lungs. "I said put me down!"

Immediately the boys lowered her to the floor. As soon as her feet felt the firm press of the ground beneath her, Lily turned around and made a dash for the girl's dormitories while the crowd parted to let her through. Moments later, the head of Gryffindor house appeared with a stormy look in her eyes.

Bugger.

…

 _James Potter was a genius. James Potter was the most talented quidditch player of current. James Potter's reflexes were god-like. James Potter is a cutie._ Sweet, sweet music to his ears. From the moment he had stepped out of the Gryffindor locker rooms, it was all he heard from snippets of random conversations before people began to notice them walking by. _It's them, it's them! The Marauders. I heard they stole all the boy's underwear from Slytherin and used it to decorate the Whomping Willow._

He had just won his first Quidditch match as team captain. The compliments ran like a river and they have yet to be proven guilty for the stunt with the underwear. Life did not get any better for James Potter. Except it could.

While the people praised him like a god, he was looking out for any signs of _her_. Yes. Lily Evans was the biggest thorn in his side since the first day he spotted her on platform 9 ¾. Even while the whole school was talking about his victory with Slytherin, she was nowhere to be seen and he had no way to find out if he had impressed her with his top notch flying. "What's got your wand in a knot?" Sirius asked from his side.

"I saw Evans today in the stands" he sighed.

"So you did ask her to come watch the game" Remus perked up.

"Not exactly. I couldn't find her the day before the match, so I ended up not asking her" James sounded almost smug about it but then remember that she hadn't even stayed to watch the entire thing.

"That's a load of bull and you know it. You probably chickened out before asking her" Sirius had nudged him eagerly in the side. The git never did miss a chance to tease him about Lily.

James had smartly chose not to grace Sirius with a response and waited for someone else to continue the conversation. Peter spoke up. "I heard they're throwing a party in the common room tonight in James' honor"

"Oh yeah, I did hear something about that. They say they're smuggling liquor in today" Sirius's eyes lit up at the mention of liquor. James honestly disagreed with the idea of under aged drinking but had never mentioned it to his friends, especially when Sirius looked like someone had slipped him a love potion whenever the topic arouse.

"You shouldn't be drinking it. We're not even legal" Remus voiced out. _Thank you, Remus!_ Sirius, however, didn't see put out by the thought, instead he had seemed encouraged by it.

"D'you reckon they have firewhiskey?"

"Sirius, that's hard liquor!"

James promptly tuned out his friends' bickering as he thought about what he would say to Lily when he sees her. Not that it has ever gone the way he wanted it, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared.

…

Peer pressure. That's what this was. Watching as his peers took a sip at their first beers was pressuring him to do the same. He wanted to be sober when Lily walks through that door so he could properly ask her to be his girlfriend. It was out of the blue, yes, but he had thought about this very thoroughly and despite knowing that she probably hates his guts, he still wanted her to know how he felt. What better time to ask her out than after a glorious win as Gryffindor's quidditch team captain. She couldn't possibly say no to him right now. _So where the hell was his nerves of steel when he needed it?_

"You alright, James?" he heard Remus' gentle voice before he felt the pat on his shoulder. Remus was about the only one in the room whose brain was still working. Everyone else ranged from tipsy to being blaringly drunk, except for the present first and second years, whom the seniors had made sure to keep the alcohol out of their reach. Though he wasn't sure how long that would last.

"He's fiiiine. He's more than fine! He's the life of the par- no wait, hold on- there's something wrong with him" Sirius said, his tone taking a turn for serious.

"That's what I noticed as well, do y-" Remus' words had been cut off when Sirius grabbed James' hand and slipped the plastic cup into his hand and pushed it towards him, the yellowish liquid sloshed dangerously close the side as he did so.

"Bottom's up, mate" Sirius hiccupped and ignored Remus' protests. But when James didn't seemed to respond, his best friend instincts had kicked in. "What's eating you?"

"I want to ask Evans to be my girlfriend" he confessed willingly. He was confused and nervous, not the best feeling in the world, he was hoping his friends would offer him a solution. One that did not involve jumping off the astronomy tower. Remus and Sirius had spluttered in shock.

"For real? Goody-two-shoes Evans? She hates our guts!" Sirius seemed to have sobered up considerably after the declaration.

James rolled his eyes and huffed through his nose. "Not helping, Black" he snipped.

"Lily did seem particularly angry with you especially after she caught you hexing Snape" Remus threw in thoughtfully

"Well that wasn't his fault! The slimy git was following us around, trying to get us in trouble" Sirius snapped.

"How come you get to call her Lily?" James seemed more concerned about that than anything else. Remus merely shrugged dismissively.

"Maybe it's because I'm nice to her"

Before James could think any further into it, Sirius had cut in. "Well if you're planning on asking that prig out then I suggest you drink up, lover boy. Because that stuff is magic -hic- I feel like I can do aaaaanything!"

"Don't listen to him, James. Just be yourself" Remus's comment barely registered.

He stared down at the half-filled cup and examined the fizzy yellow liquid. One gulp couldn't possibly hurt anyone right?

…

The room was spinning. Why was that? Oh yeah, he was riding on Frank and Thomas' shoulder because they had insisted he let everyone see his face while he downed another cup of beer. Sirius was right, he _did_ feel like he could do anything. Go on a quest, slay a dragon, kiss the princess. Not just any princess. A princess with fiery red hair and tantalizing green eyes. A princess whose features would twist into the most adorable expression when she's angry.

He felt like he was supposed to do something important. It had something to do with the princess. _Oh yes,_ he was going to ask Lily Evans to go out with him. That's right. He vaguely wondered how she would react to it. Would she be angry? Would she glare at him with her beautiful emerald eyes as her rosy lips mouths words of rejection? Or would her eyes light up with joy as she accepts and profess her undying love for him. He wasn't sure which one he wanted to see more.

And then he spotted her. The red-haired princess. She has arrived and she was talking to Sirius. What was that git doing with her? Suddenly a pang of jealousy shot up his numbing brain and he did the first thing that came to his mind—get her attention. _Along with the rest of the room's._

It wasn't like he had a choice, everyone was too busy singing him praises and drowning in liquor to understand that he wanted privacy with Lily. Besides, the alcohol was giving him courage. _Maybe a little too much._ Word after word fell out of his mouth faster than he could catch his tongue. Where was his tongue anyway? Did it fall out while he was talking? He had only intended to voice his thoughts about her until the others decided to lift her up to his level as well.

And then she was before him, looking so achingly lovely he just couldn't resist. He wanted to be bold with her, he wanted to act out his desires just _this_ once and watch her reaction. And before he knew it, "Who wants to watch me kiss Lily Evans?" and the crowd went wild. His ego was inflating from their cheers and he drew strength from it. And out of sheer nerve, he reached out to grab her arms, tugging her closer to him. Any closer and the people holding them up would have to be kissing, but this was all he needed. He needed to look at her face clearly, his eyesight had not been the best lately, maybe it was time for him to get glasses. His next words did not filter through his head when he spoke and he instantly regretted it when he saw the look in her eyes, he didn't even notice the shattering of glass in the background.

Fear? Hurt? Maybe both. His vision blurred and un-blurred before finally focusing on her eyes to see that they were shimmering with tears. He promptly panicked. What had he done? Why wasn't she getting angry at him? Where was the fire? The blatant profession of love? Why was this happening? She mumbled something underneath her breath and he strain to hear it past the buzz in his ears.

The last thing he remembered from that horrid night was her glistening emerald eyes. _This wasn't supposed to happen._

…

"He _what?"_ Lily winced at Severus' loud tone and looked up from her book to check if Madam Pince had heard them and sagged in her chair when the woman had not looked up from whatever has her attention.

"I already told you, he humiliated me in front of all our peers. It was horrible, I barely convinced myself to get out of bed this morning." Lily sighed for the umpteenth time that day.

"He fancies you, James Potter fancies you! And he's not…" Severus' voice trailed off, obviously flustered. "Everyone thinks…" Again he was at a loss for words "Big quidditch hero-" he attempts again but this time Lily saves him the trouble. She slams her book shut and snaps at him.

"I know James Potter is an arrogant toerag. I don't need you to tell me that!"

This time, Madam Pince had heard them and they ended up outside the library having done no research at all for their History of Magic assignment and left to save their conversation, which had ended on a disastrous note. With James Potter suddenly wedged between them, Lily didn't quite know how to continue from there. Severus, however, knew exactly how to proceed.

"I have better things to do than to sit here and listen to your troubles with Potter. I'll see you later, Lily" her dark haired companion turned sharply on his heels and walked down the corridor. Lily followed after him.

"Are you going to meet them again, Sev?" she asked abruptly. Severus halted his footsteps but didn't turn around to regard her. He knew exactly _who_ she was talking about. His latest friends from Slytherin house, whom he had yet to introduce her to but she already had a bad feeling about them. Mulciber and Avery were two of the cruellest students in Hogwarts and they had a passionate hate for muggle-borns. Lily has seen the things they did to people, she's seen their victims lying in the hospital wing and she shuddered. Was Severus going to become like them? Would he start hating her as well because she was muggle-born?

When he starting to walk again she voiced out once more "You know how I feel about them" her voice was quiet but firm.

"It's none of your business" he grumbled and left her standing alone in the middle of the empty corridor. They were drifting apart. Ever since he's made friends with the two most horrid people in their year, he's changed. She could feel the distance between them and she couldn't bear to feel it grow any further. _Please don't go, Severus._


	5. Fifth Year: When Things Fall Apart

**Welcome back to another chapter! Have fun and remember to leave your thoughts behind in a review!**

 **Update: Yes I did change Alice's surname because I found out that Gideon and Fabian Prewett are Molly's siblings!**

* * *

 **Fifth Year: When Things Fall Apart.**

Lily stared at the little badge in her hand, tracing the bumps of the design over and over again with the tip of her fingers. Then paused to look at it closely again. A proud lion sat in the rich red background, only its head could be seen but it was undoubtedly the Gryffindor emblem. Then her eyes moved down to the large letter 'P' overlapping the bottom half of the lion's mane. The prefect's badge. This was hers?

Slowly, Lily moved to stand in front of her bathroom mirror then, with unsteady hands, proceeded to pin the badge on her worn out muggle clothing. After pricking herself a few times because her hand wouldn't stop trembling, the red head finally managed fasten the knob over the pointed edge. Breathing out heavily she looked up to meet her own eyes in the mirror, the groundbreaking words from the letter coming back to her in short, dizzying snippets.

 _Dear Ms. Evans,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to serve as Prefect for Gryffindor House. Your school record shows that you have exhibited quick-thinking in stressful situation, the ability to lead others, and the bravery that Gryffindors have been lauded for-_

Had she? Did she really do that? Had they mistaken her school record for someone else's? Perhaps they had meant the letter for Marlene McKinnon, her brother had been a prefect before he graduated. Or even Dorcas Meadowes, who was of pure-blood heritage and she's been bragging about how Professor McGonagall hinted about appointing her as prefect last year.

 _-We are certain that you will continue to be a model for your peers and will take your new responsibilities seriously. Enclosed please find your Prefects Badge, which should be worn on your school robes at all times. Congratulations!_

 _Sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Head of Gryffindor House_

She could vaguely remember asking Severus a question when he told her she was a witch.

…

"Does it make a difference? Being a muggle-born?" she was simply curious of the difference between their abilities at the time.

He simply looked at her a smiled reassuringly. "No. It doesn't make any difference" he stated firmly. It turns out, it wasn't so much as the difference in her abilities, but rather in her blood, something that no matter how hard she worked, she wouldn't be able to change. _You're a liar, Severus._

…

She was a muggle-born. And people, especially of the Slytherin house, had never missed a chance to remind her of that, time and time again. Their words danced around her head in a singsong manner, and despite her confident retorts and thick-skinned façade, their words tore a new wound in her heart every time she hears the word _Mudblood._ But for some reasons, she could bear with it because she knew _he_ would be the first one to snap back, the first one to draw his wand and threaten them with hexes she knew were strictly illegal, and the first to defend her with everything he had.

Yes, James Potter may be the biggest prat she has ever seen but he was fiercely loyal to his House and had no qualms about getting into trouble if it meant doing something he believed in. Sometimes she found herself in envy of his nerve, of all the Marauders, in fact. She could never think to bend the rules like they did, raise wands against their enemies as easily as they did, because some part of her, no matter how small, still believed that she was just a muggle that had stumbled into a world much too big for her to comprehend. She didn't belong there— but she didn't belong here either. So where does that leave her?

 _You're a freak!_

Her sister's words reopened an old wound. She promptly lifted her hands to her ears and pressed, trying her best to banish the ugly thoughts from her head. She wasn't a freak! She had worked long and hard to prove it. Prove that she did indeed belong in the wizarding world and just as much as the rest of them. She was sitting on the top of all her classes, invited into the Slug Club who Professor Slughorn, notorious for being able to spot the most outstanding students, handpicked himself. Even if they hadn't meant for her to become prefect, she would just have to show them. She'd gotten this far, hasn't she? It'd be an awful shame if she were to give up now.

 _Right then. Pull yourself together, Lily._

…

"What in Merlin's name is _that?"_ Sirius had shouted at him as soon as they met up on the platform before breaking out into fits of uncontrollable laughter. His loud voice had stolen the attention of just about _everyone_ in the station. For the first time in a long while, James Potter had lowered his head in embarrassment before silently praying for his best mate to choke on his tongue and just— _die already._

He had known he was in trouble when his eyesight began to deteriorate to an unbearable level. At first he had thought it was because he had been hit on the head one too many times by the bludger and decided to wait for a month before he could no longer stand the blur. Everything had been so dull—so out of focus and it was completely ruining his summer mood. He was supposed to throw quaffles around with Sirius in their garden but instead, he had found himself cancelling because he wasn't sure if he could even see the quaffle coming for him to catch. He finally allowed his parents to buy him a pair of eyeglasses of his own choice. With inconspicuous on his mind as he looked through the designs, he ended up with a circle lensed, silver rimmed pair of specs.

They didn't look half bad on him, in all honesty. But he was James Potter, and there wasn't a student in Hogwarts who didn't recognize his face—except maybe the first years— if they saw him with a pair of specs on, he wasn't sure if anyone would take him seriously anymore. He realize he was being self-conscious teenager but with Sirius cackling with laughter just two seconds after seeing his bespectacled face, his ego had seen better days.

What would Lily think of him now? He groaned out loud and resisted the urge to bury his bespectacled head in his hands like the twat he was. She already hated his personality, his good looks were all he was counting on to win her heart. They were already in their fifth years and graduation day approached with every tick of the clock. He didn't have much time with her anymore and was bordering on desperation for her to like him back.

"Have you looked yourself in the mirror? Are you even James Potter?" Sirius had sniggered, reaching a hand towards his face to try and pinch it but James smacked it away with vigor.

"Shut up, Sirius, before I throw you onto the tracks" James snapped, glaring at his best friend as he wheeled his trolley away.

"Oh come on, James. Lighten up, you have to be optimistic." Sirius had caught up to him "Look on the bright side, you'd be unscathed in our next fist fight with the Slytherins." Sirius said, unable to hide the smile from his tone. James had stopped in his tracks, glancing at his friend with a questioning gaze.

"How does that have anything to do with-"

"No one hits a bloke with glasses" Sirius promptly exploded with laughter and James stalked off to load his things onto the train. His best friend was a twat. That kid pointing and staring at him was a twat. Everyone was a twat. He just hopes he doesn't run into-

"Evans" James said breathlessly. He had just entrusted his luggage to the conductor before turning around to find Lily Evans standing behind him, waiting patiently for her turn to load her luggage. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and she mouth drifted open.

"Potter?" she said in surprise. For a moment he simply stared at her, basking in her loveliness of the year. Every year on the 1st of September, he never failed to find her more and more breath-taking. Especially since he's been haunted by thoughts of what lies underneath her robes at his _active_ age. Banishing his indecent thoughts from his head, he tries not to notice the swell of her developing breasts or the shape of her body in her muggle clothing.

It took him a moment to realize that she was openly staring at him, as he was about to crack a joke to get on her nerves and have her yell at him to help him brush off the rapid thumping in his chest, he realized that she was not seeing _him,_ but rather his bespectacled self. Suddenly unhealthily self-conscious, James turned away from the woman of his affections and pulled off his glasses before promptly shoving them roughly in his trouser pockets.

"Doing okay, Evans?" he asked her with his usual exertion of charm as he unconsciously ran his hand through his unruly hair. She blinked and closed her mouth before an amused smile spread across her face. _Bollocks._

"Are you wearing spectacles, Potter?" she asked, relishing in the fact that the great James Potter was positively red with embarrassment. Not only did he seem genuinely flustered at being caught with his glasses, but from the way the intense look in his eyes faded from her as soon as he had taken off his vision aid, she could tell he was having a hard time with his eyesight.

"T-They're for reading" he stuttered out the lie, as soon as the stammer left his lips, his cheeks coloured once more and he lowered his head shamefully "Excuse me" James mumbled and then proceeded to knock into a few trunks and stumble over stray luggage in the midst of getting away.

A shy smile spread on her face as she watched him go. Lily decided that she very much preferred the new bespectacled Potter over the old one. And then convince herself that it wasn't because she found him rather dashing with the lenses on. Something about this year's Potter gave her a good feeling.

…

Terrific. Fan-fucking-tastic. Were they playing a game now? Have a go at Potter? Was that what they were playing? If so, then he wanted out. Maybe he would have time to make some new fucking friends before they reached Hogsmeade station.

Remus was first to gather himself from the pack of laughing hyenas. One would think that Sirius had laughed his share on the platform but as soon as he caught sight of Remus and Peter's expression when a bespectacled James walked into the compartment, he was more than happy to join in on the laughing fit.

"We're sorry, James but you just look so-" he sniggered and pressed his lips together to stop himself from smiling but when he opened his mouth to speak again a chuckle tumbled out before he managed complete his sentence "sophisticated"

"May I interest Sir James in a spot of tea?" Sirius put on his classiest English accent and pretended to adjust his monocle.

"Why, I'd be delighted!" Peter followed after, lifting his imaginary tea cup for Sirius to fill.

"Will you stop that?" James snapped, glaring at his moronic friends to try and quell their amusement but with no such luck, he decided to change the topic and hopefully tone the mood down as well. "More importantly, did you guys do it? The thing?" his voice was nothing short of serious and immediately the compartment fell silent. Although he usually wouldn't like to start the year like this but James didn't think they had any plans to prank the first year carriage like they always do, not when they were having such a good laugh just from looking at him.

Sullenly, Sirius and Peter nodded. "It was easy enough, gave me something to do while ignoring my parents" Sirius shrugged.

"Honestly, it tasted funny" Peter put in.

Over the summer holidays, James, Peter and Sirius had been finishing off the last conditions to complete their Animagus transformations, one of which had them holding a mandrake leave in their mouths for an entire month. James didn't think he'd be able to eat anything without said meal having an awful bitter after-taste for a very long time. Peter's little remark on the taste was severe understatement.

"I told you guys, you don't need to do this" Remus' voice was resigned and filled with self-loathing. Sirius extended his propped up leg to kick his friend in the knee.

"Don't be daft, Moony, you show up with a new scar after every transformation for past 4 years we've known you and you expect us to leave you alone like that?" Sirius quipped before popping an every flavor jelly bean into his mouth. "What if you mess up your face next? We can't have you walking with us then." Sirius added and James saw the small smile spread on Remus' face.

They all knew Remus appreciated their efforts and was only against the idea because he worried about their safety, but the same goes for them as well. When they had done the research on werewolves in their 2nd year, they had been alarmed to find out that people who went through lycanthropy in isolation tended to inflict damage on themselves because they had no one to infect. It was shortly after deciding to do something about it that the Marauders had come up with a brilliant solution—become Animagi.

It was perfect because then they would be able to keep Remus's werewolf instincts in check whilst being immune to his lycanthropic bites. And although it was strictly illegal, they would be clear of suspicions because the conditions behind the attaining the ability was an extremely delicate and complex procedure, not to mention a lengthy one as well. The Marauders has held the reputation of being no-good pranksters for about 4 years now, no one thought they were capable of anything, except to make a mess of everything and ensure that Filch's life is a living hell.

It's been almost 3 years since they've begun practicing and they were closer than they ever were after accomplishing the Mandrake ritual. James expected them to be able to take full forms by the next few full moons. Then the fun would really begin.

"I still think it's a bad idea." Remus mumbled under his breath only to be attacked by a jelly bean.

"What did I just say? We're doing this to save ourselves, not you" Sirius continued to pelt him with jelly beans until Remus began to reciprocate the action, a few strays had fallen near James and he threw them at Peter. The Marauders were bordering on breaking out into a full on war before their compartment door slid open.

"Remus, the prefect meeting's starting in 5 minutes. We have to go." a voice all too familiar to James had drifted into the compartment but before he could say anything witty to charm her, Sirius had interjected.

"Ah, the lovely Lily Evans. Would you care to join us? Remus and Peter were just about to forfeit" Sirius said, offering his signature smile that usually had girls blushing and giggling but it had yet to charm Lily. The redhead's brows drew together and her green eyes darkened in a glare, as if Sirius' very existence insulted her. James loved that look, then again he always loved the way she looked. "Or not." Sirius sat back, looking like someone had pooped in his birthday party. "Wait, did you say prefects' meeting?"

Lily merely turned her attention to Remus and looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

Scrambling to his feet, Remus stood at attention, bringing his hand to rub the back of his neck "Coming." He shot his friends an apologetic look before shuffling past Peter and Sirius's leg to exit the car as the three of them openly gawked at him. "I'll see you guys, later"

The door to the compartment slid shut and Sirius blurted out "Remus made prefect?"

"But he's one of us!" Peter squeaked.

"Well bloody hell, he's gone and left us for the stuck up and obedient. What are we going to do for fun now?" Sirius threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I don't think Remus would turn against us just because he's prefect now" Peter said, frowning.

"Let's go spy on them" James was on his feet before anyone could say anything, he scarcely noted Peter and Sirius' bewildered looks before stepping out of the compartment to follow after his friend and the love of his life. He had wondered about the identity of the lucky bloke who was going to be appointed as the Gryffindor 5th year prefect since it was no questioning who the girl prefect was going to be and some part of him had wished it was him. James had spent a good amount of his summer thinking about the things he would do if he and Lily had been chosen as prefects.

He would probably follow her around with his invisible cloak as she searched and searched for him to discuss their duties only for her to become flustered when she can't find him. A bitter part of him would've wanted her to keep searching because for the first time in his life, Lily Evans would be chasing after _him._ Although he knew it wouldn't prove anything, but it'd give him some form of hope.

When his mail had been delivered in a bump-less envelope, that chance at hope died. He pretended not be disappointed and tried to convince himself that this was good news. He was a Marauder— rules were meant to be broken.

But when he had seen Lily enter, dressed in her robes with the shiny Gryffindor prefect pin against her left breast and calling for Remus by his first name, he couldn't help but desperately want to take his friend's place. To have a mundane conversation without breaking out into heated arguments, a domestic relationship filled with trust and affectionate casualness—with Lily Evans.

He had been content with not being chosen as prefect, he thought Dumbledore would have to be downright barmy to appoint a Marauder as prefect. After learning Remus had been chosen, he couldn't help but feel envy for the guy and disappointment in himself. For if Remus had landed the position, it meant that he had his chances to prove himself as well. His mind was swimming in what ifs as he slinked past a few chattering 1st years and ignored the stares of people who knew him.

What if he hadn't jinxed the enchanted ceiling in the great hall to rain frogs just before Dumbledore announced Slytherin as the winner of the house cup last year? What if he hadn't enlarged Lucius Malfoy's head in his 3rd year? What if they hadn't been caught by Filch when they were raiding the kitchens? These were all hypothetical, he knew if it had come down to it, he wouldn't take back anything he'd done with the Marauders. _Even if it meant giving up the chance to get closer to Lily Evans._ He thought bitterly.

As he stood outside the head compartment, shamelessly peeking through the glasses. He really should be pretending to be casual but he couldn't take his eyes off Remus and Lily. The current Head boy and girl, Frank Longbottom and Alice Payne were both Gryffindor seniors and it seemed like they were trying to do a little match-making from the way Frank was nudging Remus towards Lily. Remus had brushed it off with an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly trying to deny it but the apple of Lily's cheeks had turned a shade of pink as she simply smiled whilst Alice gushed about the possibility of the two of them carrying on their legacy. To fall in love like them and then become head boy and head girl.

"No!" James yelled out involuntarily.

When they had turned to inspect the commotion, something had been thrown over his head. "What do you think you're doing?" Sirius whispered harshly. Blinking, James snapped out of his horror-induced trance to see Peter and Sirius under the cloak with him. They weren't first years anymore so he had no doubt that their feet could be seen. Lowering to the ground and taking his two friends with him, James voiced his worries.

"Do you think Remus and Evans make a good couple?" he whispered urgently.

Sirius and Peter exchanged looks before snorting "Is this what you're so worried about? Just because Evans and Remus are prefects now, does not mean they're just going to magically fall in love with each other. Not everyone's like Frank and Alice" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"But what if she starts falling for Remus. We all know she already likes him better than any of us" James sounded genuinely concerned about this.

Sirius scoffed, "Just because _you_ think she walks on water doesn't mean everyone is going to jump at the chance to get into her old fashioned floral undies." Sirius actually made sense for once. Though he had to repress the urge to sock his best friend in the eye for his crass sense of logic. But this wasn't just any girl, this was Lily Evans. _Perfect and beautiful in every way_ Evans. His hopes and dreams all wrapped in one perfect being. The thought that Remus might actually _like_ Lily had never crossed his mind, because he had always been the one chasing after her. If it turned out that one of his best mates actually _did_ fall for her, what would he do?

"You're looking a little pale, James" he heard Peter say.

"Peter's right, what's wrong with you now?" Sirius began shaking him by the shoulders. However before James could think to reply, someone kicked them.

"What the devil-" the person hissed, seeming to think that he had just stumbled over thin air. Sirius cursed under his breath.

"It's Snivellus, we'd best be leaving. Let's go lover-boy" he drags a disoriented James along as the three of them proceed to crawl away. Little had they known that the cloak hadn't been long enough to cover James' legs and Severus ended up seeing a pair of legs on the floor making a quick getaway.

…

Lily Evan's fifth year at Hogwarts hadn't started as well as she thought it would. It appears the mention of the Dark Lord was becoming more and more of a frequent event when it seemed like only last year, everyone had dismissed the idea of an all-powerful dark wizard that promised pure-blood revolution. Apparently it had something to do with the murder of a muggle family, their son had been a muggle-born wizard and it seemed like that was the root cause for the murder. A strange mark been left at the massacre and the public had started calling it the 'Dark Mark.'

It happened over the summer holidays while she was back in the muggle world so Lily really had no idea of such a tragedy until she heard it from a half-blood first year who was crying over the incident. She had been leading the first year students to their dorm when she heard the commotion, Remus was already making his way towards the sobbing girl from the back of the group. He seemed rather lost as to what to do with a crying child and eagerly allowed Lily to take over.

"You go on ahead, Remus. We'll catch up" she told him, Remus nodded and walked over to the front of the line to take the lead. Lily watched and made sure no one was left behind before turning her attention the upset junior.

Kneeling down to the floor to level get on eye level, she tugged at the girl's sleeve to stop her from rubbing her eyes. "What is your name, sweetheart?" she asked, softly.

"Barbara Winston" she hiccupped and allowed Lily to take her small hands in her bigger ones.

"Why are you crying, Barbara?" Lily reached up to brush a rolling tear from her cheeks. As she looked closely to the girl, the whites of her dark hazel eyes were red from crying and there was a splatter of freckles across her round face, her lower lip trembled as she is struggled to explain herself.

"M-My mother is a muggle-born and—and—everyone is saying that the Dark Lord will k-kill her because he killed— t-that muggle family" she said between hiccups. Lily had been oblivious of the horrors then, but she knew of the Dark Lord and his beliefs, a frisson of fear had run down her spine, knowing that Voldemort stood against people like her. However, before Lily could muster her words from her mouth, the girl's next words had her heart breaking. "I want to go home—I need to protect her" she pleaded.

"Do you have your wand, Barbara?" she asked.

Confused, the girl nodded and produced a long, pale brown wand from her robes to show it off. Lily closed her hands around the girl's fist, "Do you know how to use it?" the girl shook her head silently. Lily smiled gently at her, tightening her hold " _This_ —is every witch and wizard's prize possession. Your most powerful ally. It would do anything for you, heal a wound or even protect your loved ones." the girl opened her mouth to speak but Lily pressed on "But in order for them to do so, you need to learn their secrets. Hogwarts is a place that gives witches and wizards like you-" she lifted a finger to the girl's chest and then placed the same finger on her own "-and me, a chance to learn these secrets. If you want to protect your mother, you need to be prepared for it. Do you feel prepared, Barbara?"

The first year's brows furrowed as she shook her head. Lily merely offered her one word "Learn." The revelation spread across the girl's face and Lily knew she had succeeded. "Come, we have to get you to bed" Lily stood and took the girl's hand in her own.

Later that night in the dormitories, Lily had asked her roommates about the full ordeal concerning Death Eaters, only to wish that she hadn't.

…

It was the middle of May and Lily had yet to begin studying. Their O.W.L Examinations were but two weeks' away and she hasn't even opened her textbooks, yet here she was in the great hall, sitting with the Marauders and waiting for Sirius' attempt to turn water into wine to go horribly wrong. With his wand poised over the silver goblet, Sirius narrowed his eyes in such intense concentration that had Lily leaning forward in her seat. It was one of the rare moments in which Sirius was actually being serious. No pun intended. "Vinumus"

There was a rather intense silence circling the group before Sirius put away his wand and nudged Peter in the side "Drink it"

The mousy brown haired boy straightened and looked at Sirius as if he had just insulted his mother. "That can't be safe." He complained. Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to look at Remus, who was sitting on his other side.

Remus merely scoffed a no before putting the rest of his biscuit in his mouth. Sirius threw his hands up in disbelief. "Well someone's got to drink it!" he looked around his group of friends to see everyone avoiding eye contact with him. "Unbelievable, Godric Gryffindor just rolled over in his grave. Pansies! The lot of you!" he gestured wildly around him.

Clicking his tongue, James reached over the table to snag the goblet by the neck before lifting it to his lips, expecting some kind of horrible tasting liquid to touch his lips but nothing came. Lowering the goblet, he finally noticed that his fingers were cold. Peering into the goblet he was met with an amusing sight. James knocked the goblet onto the side of the table and chuckled "Its frozen solid, mate"

"What?" Sirius reached over and snatched the goblet back to confirm it for himself, frowning deeply as he inspected the solid ice "I thought I had it for sure this time"

"You said that last time" Remus poked in.

"And the time before that" Peter added on, starting to eat again now that the mood had lightened up.

"A true Gryffindor never gives up! I swear on my honor that I shan't rest until woeful peasants such are yourselves have been blessed with fountains and fountains of fine alcohol" Sirius placed his right fist on the left of his chest, feinting a distressed look on his face.

Lily snickered "If only he were that determined in his studies"

"Speaking of studies, aren't you usually holed up in the library. Exams are but a fortnight's away, Ms. Prefect" Sirius gave her a suspicious look.

Ever since Lily had become prefect, she had often joined the Marauders during mealtimes to discuss prefectorial issues with Remus. At first she hadn't bothered to stay after said discussion, however the time in which she lingered gradually grew and eventually she found herself sitting through the whole meal time with them. She usually ate briefly and quickly so she could leave to wait for Severus at the library, where they would then proceed to finish their homework or just study together.

However, ever since the start of fifth year, Severus had been increasingly distant from her. Always standing her up in the library or just downright refusing to carry a conversation, he was always looking around them whenever they were together, as if afraid to be caught walking with her. She suspected this had something to do with his new association with the Slytherin boys.

Mulciber, Avery and Rosier were known to be the cruelest gang of Slytherins ever since Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy had graduated, leaving them to carry on their vile legacy. What annoyed her most was not the fact that Severus had ditched her for his new mates, but rather, he ditched her for _them._ He knew well enough of their nature, about their strong discrimination against muggle-borns like herself and yet he willingly went along with them. She had tried confronting him about it more than once, but he always managed to brush it off callously or just choose to remain ignorant to her pleas. By second term, Lily had given up on trying to steer her friendship back on track with Severus. If that was what he wanted, she supposed she had no right to interfere with his choices.

That was how she found her new friendship with the Marauders. Although she still occasionally disagreed with their pranking ways, she had learned to let them be, as long as no one got hurt. They had wisely chosen to speak rarely of their pranks whenever she was around, which made it easier for her to turn a blind eye to their misdoings and for that she was grateful. She didn't appreciate being called a prig but she had to stand up to her own beliefs, what's wrong is wrong, no matter how much they tried to sugarcoat it.

But she did genuinely enjoy their company. She often found it difficult to socialize with people of her age and was normally quiet around people except Severus. She was still quiet around the Marauders but they always made her feel included, they never once ignored her or started a conversation they knew she wouldn't understand and even poked fun of her occasionally, they made her feel like she belonged. Which brought her back to the current topic of discussion. Oh that's right, _O. ._

She wrinkled her nose at the thought. "I hadn't even thought about it until you brought it up" she muttered dejectedly, as if already dreading amount of work she had to do. On top of being a prefect with night rounds, which bit off a significant part of her late night study time, Lily had also set a minimum goal of 10 O. in this examination.

"You're joking right? _The_ Lily Evans, neglecting her studies? Who are you and what have you done to Ms. Priggy" Sirius narrowed his eyes at Lily.

"If you're not careful, Evans. Remus might steal top-of-the-class from right under that button nose of yours" James chuckled from beside her.

"You lot are a bad influence on me" Lily shrugged and reached over James for a peppermint humbug only for him to slide the platter out of her reach. Turning to scowl at him, she scooted closer to try again but again he pulled it away, trying to get her to lean closer to him. Instead she straightened and smiled sweetly at Remus.

"Remus, be a dear and pass me a peppermint humbug please"

Finishing off his sausage, Remus reached over to grab a small handful of sweets before handing them to Lily. James shot him a scowl that spelled 'Traitor' before frowning at the smug witch next to him. "How come you didn't just ask me?"

"Because I wouldn't have to ask for anything if it weren't for you. Plus, I wouldn't put it past you to switch the sweet with something like a dung ball in disguise." Lily said before popping the treat in her mouth. James frowned at this. Aside from trying to coax her closer to him, he had actually been hoping she would ask him nicely to pass the treats but instead she had turned to Remus, again. The worst thing was when she had been so _sweet_ about it when asking it from Remus. Would it kill her to show him just a little bit of affection?

He looked up from the table to catch Remus' apologetic gaze but he returned it with a reassuring smile. He probably deserved it anyway. Whenever she was near, he always ended up taking the worst possible route of action in every kind of situation while his mouth spurted unfiltered words from his brain. Lily Evans, was in every way, a thorn in his existence sent to make sure he suffered. Perhaps this was a way make up for him being so perfect. He was sure if he had said that out loud, he would once again be on the receiving end of her glares so he chose to keep his mouth firmly shut this time. _Unless she made him screw that up too._

"Lily" a new voice had entered the conversation and judging from the way his friends on the opposite side of the table was looking past him, the person was standing right behind him. As James turned to look behind him, Lily uttered the name of his most hated adversary.

"Severus"

Severus looked rather uncomfortable being in the presence of the Marauders, who had never missed the chance to make a big joke out of his life—whenever he wasn't in Lily's presence, that is. She would never let them get away with it. "Come to crash the party, have you? Snivellus." Sirius sneered with distaste. Severus shot him a heated glare before Lily snapped at Sirius

"Leave him alone, Sirius" the pleasant tone she had adorned vanished.

"Can I have a word, Lily?" Severus glanced at the curious, but unwelcoming looks he was receiving from the group. "Alone." he persisted.

"Of course" Lily stood immediately and stepped over the bench to follow the greasy git out the great hall with James trying to glare a hole through said guy's head.

…

It wasn't until minutes before curfew did Lily finally return to Gryffindor tower. James had been reading over his notes alone in the Gryffindor common room, partly because he was hoping to catch Lily when she returned and also because Sirius and Peter were playing a rather loud game of exploding snap. He, unlike Remus, had not mastered the art of being able to concentrate in their chaos, so he decided to take his studying to the common room. What he didn't expect was for Lily to return in the state she was in.

She was sniffling, James noted with irritation that was not directed at her but to the only person he knew was capable of causing her such distress. When she stepped into the dim room, she looked up and their eyes meet. She was surprised to see him. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her, a similar shade told she had been crying and for some time now. His heart squeezed to see her so crestfallen. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay when he knew she wasn't but had no doubt she would say she was. He wasn't close enough to her for her to willingly confide in him, maybe he should get Remus, he thought bitterly.

"Alright, Evans?" He found himself asking anyway.

She sniffed again before turning away from him to wipe callously at her cheek with the back of her hand and James knew that she was struggling to hide her tears, though he so desperately wished she wouldn't. As he gathered the courage to ask if she wanted to talk about it, she interrupted him.

"Fine. Goodnight, Potter" she uttered and moved to pass him in order to get to the dormitory staircases. James couldn't find the words to stop her, flapping his mouth open and close wordlessly before his body moved instinctively to grab hold of her arm, effectively stopping her in her tracks but she didn't turn to look at him. For a moment, James mentally pleaded with her to just turn around and glare at him like she usually would when he initiated contact with her but she didn't. After a pregnant pause she spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Let go" the tightening of her throat made it difficult for her to say anything else. She was suffocating, her heart was clenching painful in her chest and the tears refused to stop. But he was persistent, his steady hand refusing to let go of her elbow. What was he trying to prove? That the prudish Lily Evans had feelings so he could poke fun at her vulnerability?

"Coming in past curfew is unlike you, Evans. Has your rebellious urges finally kicked in?" words were humorous but his tone was anything but. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. That's not what you wanted to say!_ "Look, I know something's wro-"

"I came in at 8:57, three minutes before curfew." Her voice had started out firmly and James had been relieved to hear the usual Lily until her voice cracked towards the end. "Please, Potter. I beg you. Just-" she choked back a sob "Leave me alone"

At that, James pulled his hand away from her as if he had been burned and watched as she scrambled up the steps, wiping furiously at her face with her sleeves. Leaving James to stare helplessly at the entrance he knew he wouldn't be able to cross. He could still feel her trembling underneath the palm he had used to hold her back, the small, sorrowful tremors that wracked her body so fresh in his mind he could barely stand it. His fingers closed into a fist and he clenched it until his knuckles were white before he looked up longingly at the stairway. She hadn't even answered his question.

…

She shouldn't have let him out of her sight. She should've insisted that they meet up every day after classes in the library to study. If she had done just that, he wouldn't have become this way. It was as if the boy she knew from her childhood had vanished, in his place stood a doppelganger with cold, calculative eyes and an unwavering look of disapproval.

When he had gotten her away from the great hall, she had hoped he was finally willing to spend some time with her but instead she had turned her expectations around by reprimanding her about fooling around with the Marauders. Like usual, she had given in to his callous comments and reflected on her actions by believing that she had been in the wrong.

"Where have you been then?" she asked guiltily. Maybe if she knew where he lingered around nowadays she could seek him out in her free time so they could spend more time together.

"With Mulciber's gang"

"Mulciber!" she gasped the name as if it burned her tongue "What do you see in him, Sev? He's creepy!" and he truly was, with his sly grins and scheming eyes. "D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?" she asked him urgently even though she knew he did. Because they had talked about it on the day it happened and Severus spent half an hour trying to calm her down, promising her that nothing will happen to her just because Mary Macdonald was a muggle-born like she was.

"I can say the same to you about the Marauders. They're bullies, Lily. You've seen what they're like! I even have the scars to remind you!" he snapped harshly, eyes narrowing at her.

And for a fleeting moment she had been filled with guilty for having fun with the Marauders; until Marcus Mulciber and Evan Rosier showed up.

They had taunted them, which wouldn't be the first time, so Lily hadn't thought too deeply about it. She was in the middle of a serious discussion with Severus so she had wisely chosen to keep her mouth shut hoping it would speed up the process, she hadn't even faltered when he called her a filthy mudblood. But what had hurt her the most was when they asked if Severus was truly friends with her and he had downright _denied_ it. Alarmed at his claim, she looked at him as if he had just kicked a puppy, looking for any signs of reassurance from him to tell her that he was lying but she couldn't find it. Mulciber and Rosier had laughed and patted him on the back before ushering him away from her. When Lily had grabbed hold of his sleeve to try and stop him from walking away from her, he shook her off as if she burned him then turned to look at her as if her existence had offended him then walked off with his new mates.

She had hid up in the astronomy tower for hours just reflecting on the whole situation, trying her best to think of a reason for Severus's sudden hatred for her and before she could help it, she was sobbing.

…

He was annoyed. No, more than that. He was furious, livid. He wanted to break something, preferably someone's face because she had shown up to breakfast looking like _that._ With her eyes swollen and her face unhealthily pale, James was convinced that Lily had been crying all night. She has never looked like this. Not even when she had fallen deathly sick on Easter break and had to be quarantined in the hospital wing through the holidays. In the five years he had known her, he has never found her physically unattractive. Lily Evans was beautiful even on her worst days. But this, tragically beautiful Lily sitting a few metres down the bench from him, who had despair rolling off her body in waves, was not someone he wanted to see—ever.

"She looks awful" Peter mumbled, his voice full of concern.

"What do you think happened to her?" Sirius asked, the usual playfulness in his tone had completely vanished. James offered but one word.

"Snape" he spat the name like venom from his mouth.

The other three marauders looked confused. "How'd you figure?"

"Who else could it be?" James snapped at them before standing up and storming out of the great hall with one target in mind.

…

As he scoured the school, the rest of the Marauders had caught up to him but they didn't say anything knowing that he was in a bad mood. James Potter didn't get angry very often but whenever he did, he'd make sure everyone knew. He found his target under the willow tree by the Great Lake, casually reading his potions textbook. When he looked up to source out the murderous aura he was feeling, Severus had shut his book in a hurry and scrambled to his feet before taking a step back. James Potter wasn't angry. No, that would be an understatement. He was _murderous_.

When Severus had drawn his wand, the incantation was out of James' mouth automatically. "Expelliarmus" and the wand was out of the Slytherin's hand faster than he could react. Severus followed his wand with his eyes and watched it land much too far away from him to regain in time to stop the angry Marauder before the worst could happen.

Severus continued to back away slowly, hoping one of the many people who had gathered to watch the commotion had the sense to inform a teacher. "Levicorpus" and suddenly Severus was hanging upside down by his ankles as everyone laughed and cheered him on. That was _his_ spell, _he_ had invented that spell, and that _swine_ dared to use it against him?

 _Pot-ter. Pot-ter. Pot-ter_. The crowd of students chanted. James flashed him an evil grin as if he had just been hit with an idea. Remus had recognized that smile and he knew that whatever he had in plan for Severus was not going to be good. "James, I think you should stop-" Remus attempted to stop his mate's rampage.

"Who wants to see me take off Snape's trousers!" he announced to the crowd, his eyes never leaving Severus'. Enjoying the look of utter fear and dread spreading across the boy's face. Remus' eyes had widened, he glanced back at Sirius and Peter to see them share a similar look of hesitance. Someone needed to stop him. Remus groaned internally, why did he always have to play the sensible one?

"James, knock it o-" he never got to finish his sentence because something small and red had just jumped in front of James and shoved him a few steps backwards, causing him to lose his concentration for a second and nearly dropping Severus on his head.

"Let him go, Potter." Lily's voice was intense with hate.

James blinked, as if not quite believing she was there. "What?" he asked dumbly.

"I said to let him go!" she snapped loudly, glaring at him with her most intense look. She wanted him to release him? This bloke who gave her a hard time last night? The slimy git who forced tears from her eyes and induce pain to her heart? No, not this time. However, instead of saying anything remotely sensible, James found himself retorting "I will, if you go out with me, Evans" he said in all seriousness.

That way he would be able to take care of her. He would safeguard her heart to make sure that no harm would come to it. He would make her happy, if she would just give him the fucking chance! He was desperate. Yes, to the point he was threatening her to go out with him. He was pathetic, he knew as much but if that's what it took to make them happen, so be it.

Her eyes flashed with a warning before she drew her own wand and turned to face her friend who was still suspended in air. "Liberacorpus" and Severus was on the ground again. She ran over to him to help him. "Are you alright, Severus?" her voice breathless from the adrenaline.

He was about to answer her when his eyes caught sight of the number of people who had gathered to enjoy his humiliation, some of few had been his own housemates, Avery, Mulciber and Rosier. Mad with embarrassment and resentment towards James Potter, he knew he couldn't allow himself to continue hiding behind a girl who had so obviously been charmed by the people who was hell-bent on making sure his life was a living hell. From the moment he had spat the words out, he knew he'd give anything to take them back.

"Don't touch me, you filthy mudblood!" he snarled at her and she froze up, her eyes looking at him in disbelief. What had he done? But before he could start begging for her forgiveness, someone had seized him by the collar.

James surged forward as soon as the words left that git's mouth, snagging fistfuls of Snapes' shirt in both hands as he snarled in his face. "Apologize to her!"

With wide eyes and his throat seizing up from fear. Fear that he may have lost the only person who made him happy in his life. Fear that James Potter would start beating him until he was within an inch of life. Severus was at a loss for words.

When Snape remained quiet, James jerked him by his shirt "Apologize!" he snarled again but once again he found himself being pushed back, by the same small pair of hands but with a gentler touch this time.

"You are just as bad as Severus! James Potter, you are an arrogant, boastful, pompous who just don't know when to stop! I would not date you even if I had to choose between you and the Giant Squid!" she pointed towards the great lake for emphasize.

Her words had barely reached James' ears as he allowed her continue yelling at him until she was satisfied. Because he couldn't say anything. Nothing he said ever made anything better. Especially not when she looked like _that._

Lily's brilliant green eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and although her eyes where glazed over, the hurt and anger had been projected clearly in them. He was hated this look in her eyes. Loathed it to the point of violence. And when she drew away after she had finished shouting, he didn't miss the way her bottom lip quivered and her brows furrowed as she blinked furiously to banish the tears. Before anyone could say anything, she had run off. And once again, James was left standing there with his heart clutched in his hand when all he wanted was to race after her and force her to take it. He looked up to see Snape gone, leaving him to take everyone's attention. Usually he relished in it but this time he wanted to shout at everyone to leave him the fuck alone. Hagrid had showed up moments later to break up the gathering, ushering everyone to return to their classes. The Marauders walked behind a heartbroken James, none of them spoke but they all mourned.

For in all good things comes a time when everything fell apart.

* * *

 **I feel like a scumbag for leaving things like that but I promise things will get better! More romance incoming so follow the story. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Sixth Year: Quicker than Falling Asleep

**I just realized I didn't put in an Author's Note when if reuploaded this chapter.**

 **A/N: The SEQUEL of this fic is in my profile titled: Power the Dark Lord Knows Not.**

* * *

 **Sixth Year: Quicker Than Falling Asleep**

 _Fourteen muggles. Twenty-six muggle-borns. Seven half-bloods._ James ticked off the numbers in his head. Their names running through his head as he counted them again and again. Dead. These people were all dead because some elitist wanker decided he would do the world an unnecessary favor. The safety of the public has been threatened and many parents were pulling their children out of Hogwarts in hopes of shielding them from the danger. The topic has been brought up one too many times during dinner time in the Potter household, but James and Sirius were having none of it. There was no place safer than Hogwarts and they were determined to follow through with their studies all the way to graduation just to prove that.

Sirius and James had become housemates over the holidays when the former had suddenly showed up at James' doorstep with his trunk of belongings and dripping wet from head to toe, wearing a helpless look on his face. "I hate to come to you like this, Prongs, but I-" but James didn't let him finish. Instead dragged him inside and informed his parents that he and Sirius were going to have a sleep over that lasted forever. It was safe to say that Sirius had been more than fondly accepted by the Potters. Euphemia Potter, who always wished for more children took immediate advantage of the situation and has already accepted Sirius as her son. Going so far as to fuss about him being sopping wet and generally faffing about him like a mother hen, needless to say, Sirius had quite enjoyed it seeing as his own mother had never been an affectionate woman.

The crinkling sound of paper had James' attention snapping from his daydream to his best friend. "This is bull, those parents don't know what they're doing. Hogwarts has got to be safer than anywhere _they_ can think of" Sirius crunched up the latest issue of the Daily Prophet and threw it out the compartment before leaning back on his seat with his arms crossed.

"What's this?" a familiar voice asked from the entrance. They two look up to see Peter stepping into the compartment with Sirius' scrunched up newspaper.

"A load of bull" Sirius grumbles in reply.

Peter takes a seat next to James and across Sirius and proceeds to read the crinkled news, his face paling as he continues to read. "H-Hogwarts isn't safe?" he stammers, looking up.

"Of course it is, Wormtail. Those people don't know what they're doing" James said, exasperated.

"Oh." Peter responded lately. "Everyone's pretty shaken up by everything. It's only been a year since the first murder incident by the Death Eaters."

Sirius scoffs "Everyone except the Slytherin sods. I wouldn't be surprised if their whole house is filled with Death Eaters"

"I thought you said Hogwarts was safe!" Peter wailed.

Sirius sat up, annoyed with Peter's dimwitted remarks "Honestly, Wormtail, do you think anything is going to happen under Dumbledore's watch? Voldemort may be stupid but I doubt he's _that_ stupid"

Peter panicked and looked around nervously before moving to slide the compartment door shut. "What if someone hears you?"

"I don't give a toss if some Slytherin Death Eater hears me, they don't scare me" Sirius said, glaring out the window.

Everyone was on edge, that's for sure. Even the Marauders, who were known for being able to make jokes out of everything were affected by the unsettling fear that Voldemort has sprinkled on the world. Hold on-

"You know what we need?" James had finally spoken after a period of silence. Sirius and Peter looked at him, curious. With a smirk that expanded into a cocky grin, James elaborated "A big bang"

…

Where was he? Since the prefect meeting had taken most of their train ride, they had already wasted enough time explaining the plan to Remus. The sorting ceremony could end at any moment and they all needed to be in position for everything to work. Impatiently, James reached into his back pocket to extract the Marauders map. He quickly found Remus and Peter at their positions inside the Great Hall. Sirius, however, was nowhere to be found. He looked for him in the dorms, the courtyard. Nothing.

"Sorry I'm late" said a breathless voice. James started, turning around to see Sirius adjusting his fly as he made his way towards him.

"Where the hell were you?" James snapped.

"Room of Hidden Things" Sirius answered, finally finished zipping up his trousers.

"Do I even want to know why?" James quipped, his eyes training on the glossy smudge on the side of Sirius' neck, he suspected it was a lip gloss. Noting James' gaze, Sirius dismissively wiped the smudge with his hand before James shoved his respective broom to him.

"Just a bit of fun, Prongs" Sirius gave him a side long glance. James rolled his eyes, his best friend was a randy son-of-a-bitch, no doubt.

"Right, quit being a wankstain and help me move the wardrobes to the Great Hall." James said. Now that Sirius was here, he didn't need to move the two wardrobes one at the time because he could only levitate one object at the time. Once they were outside the closed doors of the Great Hall, James took a look at the map to make sure that Filch was still busy cleaning up the aftermath of the exploding toilet bowls on the third floor lavatory. "Great, we're on time. Now we just have to wait for Moony and Wormtail's cue. I'm going to transfigure into Godric Gryffindor" James said.

Sirius shoved him on the arm "Bugger off, I wanted to be Godric Gryffindor!" Sirius argued. James shot him a withering look.

"You were the one who was late, you don't get Gryffindor"

"Well what am I supposed to transfigure into then?"

"You could be Merwyn the Malicious for all I care, you practically worship him."

Sirius groaned "But he's much too old, he's not good for my complexion" Sirius complained in his whiny rich kid voice.

James had opened his mouth to protest but had only managed just that before he heard the mirror in his pocket call for him. "Prongs! Prongs, they're done with the sorting!" came the harshly whispered tones of Remus' voice. They didn't have time to argue about this now.

"Alright! You can have Gryffindor, I'll pick someone else!" he said in exasperation. Making quick work of their transfiguration, they gave each other a once over to make sure they don't look like themselves.

"Really? Dumbledore?" Sirius commented.

"Shut up, Padfoot" James grumbled unhappily and Sirius laughed heartily .

"Let's go introduce ourselves then" Sirius placed his hand on the doors of the Great Hall and James had his wand pointed at the wardrobes line up right outside the doors, they nodded at each other. At once, Sirius pushed the doors open with all his might as James opened both wardrobes with a quick wave of his wand.

"Confundo" he and Sirius said in unison, their wands pointing into the darkness that hid what was within the wardrobes. There was a pregnant pause and James feared their plan to use the Confundus charm on boggarts had failed. But when black smoke shot out, they quickly mounted their brooms and got ready to put on a show.

…

Lily's hand froze mid-way to the potatoes when she heard the doors of the Great Hall slam open. It seemed that everyone in the Hall had done the same and a deathly silence befell upon the room before black smoke shot from the doors. Fear gripped at Lily's heart for her worst nightmares had come true. Death Eaters. They were here at Hogwarts. And she had been so sure it was safe here too. She recalled Barbara telling her that her parents hadn't wanted her to come this year but she had insisted to return because Lily had inspired her. Oh, what had she done?

The black smoke circled the great hall and a few female students screamed in fear. Some stared in fascination and some in confusion. Like two separate entities, the black smoke circled one another several times before ultimately forming the Dark Mark over the hall. Her breathing hitched and she was already thinking of evacuation routes to guide the students to before two figures shot through the very same doors on broomsticks. One of them looked like—Godric Gryffidor?

With obvious skill and control over their brooms, they laughed heartily and circled the chaotic room once before pointing their wands at the Dark Mark. "Riddikulus!" With an abruptness that was almost comical, the dark mark exploded into a series of fireworks, shooting out in random directions and painted the entire ceiling with multicolored lights. The students cheered and some had even participated by throwing around a few charms of their own. While the others were busy looking up, Lily noticed Remus and Peter in the middle of the room when she knew she hadn't seen anyone walk through the doors.

Before anything else could happen, she felt the fission of a Counter Spell spread through the room and watched as Godric Gryffindor and Professor Dumbledore were blasted off their brooms, skidding on the floor. The boggarts had been banished through the doors to where Lily's eyes could not follow.

Professor Dumbledore, now revealed to be none other than James Potter skidded to a stop at her feet. He was laughing breathlessly, his chest lifting and falling with spasms of mirth as he did so. Lily didn't realize she had turned around on her bench from the excitement. He seemed to have noticed her staring when he propped himself up on one elbow to turn and look at her, his hazel eyes twinkled with mischief before he flashed her a charming grin. "Hello, Evans"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Potter?" she blinked but had no time to think of anything else to say before James was hoisted to his feet with the back of his robes by a very angry Argus Filch.

"I've caught the troublemakin' bunch, sir!" It took a moment for Lily to realize that Filch had Sirius in a similar hold as James in his other hand. He shoved them forward towards the front of the hall as if to gloat to Dumbledore.

"Bring them to my office, Argus. I'd like a word with them" Dumbledore said sternly. Filch had been more than happy to oblige, giving them a few more hard shoves before they finally wriggled free. The doors to the great hall closed before Dumbledore spoke again. "That was rather exciting, don't you think?" Dumbledore's voice resonated throughout the room and roused a round of giggles. "Come now, eat and then it's off to bed with all of you. I don't expect any more shenanigans from anyone"

"Well that didn't play out entirely to plan" Lily turned her attention to Remus and Peter who had inconspicuously squeezed themselves on the Gryffindor table, trying their best to blend in.

This had once again been another prank from the notorious Marauders. Lily was annoyed, yet relieved at the same time. How dare they make a fool of the tragedy in the recent incidents? However, she also notice the heavy atmosphere from before had disappeared and in its place was the usual, excitement and chatter the Great Feast was known for. She wondered if they had planned this from the start as a comic relief for the rising tension of their world, to remind them that Hogwarts was safe. Was that why Potter and Sirius had transfigured into Gryffindor and Dumbledore? To show them that within the grounds of Hogwarts, they would always be protected—they would be safe. This brought upon a fond smile on Lily's face, perhaps she had misjudged them. She found herself hoping they wouldn't get into _too_ much trouble for it.

…

"For falsifying a death eater attack, I will deduct a hundred points from Gryffindor." Sirius and James winced. McGonagall was going to kill them. "But." Oh? There was hope yet. "For your valiant attempt to cheer the students of Hogwarts up. I will award you a hundred house points" Sirius and James smiled and looked at each other in excitement "Each" Dumbledore finished and the biggest grin split across their faces.

"However, for entering the classrooms without the supervision of a teacher and unleashing a potentially fatal boggart attack. You will both serve detention after classes with Hagrid for the next week" this raised a groan from the two Marauders. "You are dismissed"

Turning to exit, the headmaster of Hogwarts placed a shoulder on James' shoulder to hold him back. "Oh and James" he began. James turned to regard Albus respectfully.

"Yes, professor?"

"It would not kill you to forge my age a little" Dumbledore winked and James laughed.

"Yes, professor"

…

With a total of 8 _'Outstandings'_ and 2 _'Exceeds Expectations'_ in her O. and she was more than happy with it because this meant she had the freedom of choice for subjects to carry forward to N.E.W.T level however she had also been conflicted with that very same freedom. Lily had decided on Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration as the four subjects she firmly wished to carry forward but was torn between Herbology and Study of Ancient Runes before eventually settling on Herbology with the reason that having access to the greenhouse would benefit her greatly in Potions. She had been curious of what Severus had taken for his N.E. but refrained herself from asking. She had made it clear that she no longer wanted to be mates with him even though he had begged for her forgiveness.

She wasn't so much bothered by fact that he had called her a mudblood, but rather by his association with the band of Slytherins who were suspected Death Eaters. She has continuously voiced out against his relationship with them but he never saw her point. Why couldn't he see that he was changing and not for the better? Because of them, he was no longer the gentle, thoughtful boy she had met in Spinner's end. He was no longer her beloved best friend Sev, but a stone-faced imposter with a barrier set up around his heart that even she could not penetrate. He had betrayed her trust and she was afraid to see what else he'd become. Tears prickled in her eyes but she shook the thoughts from her head, telling herself that she didn't need this type of pressure now and steered her thoughts to a more cheerful topic.

It was currently the second week of classes and Lily was enjoying her day immensely after she was praised by Professor Slughorn for being able to understand Golpalott's Third Law then again by Professor Flitwick for being the first to successfully turn vinegar into wine. As she walked through the courtyard, a quaffle soaring through the air reminded her of the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts that were taking place today. She had just spared a thought to how that had gone before a crestfallen pair of students in maroon and gold Quidditch uniforms walked past her, their faces the epitome of disappointment.

Lily brushed it off, in a game as competitive as Quidditch there were bound to be a few losses. But when a few more students brushed past her in similar condition she resisted the urge to cringe. _That bad?_ James Potter was best known by the school as the Great Quidditch Hero but many did not know that he was also a strict and driven captain who pushed his team to their absolute limits with no qualms about rejecting a player if he believed the person to be unworthy. Some people viewed that part of him with disdain but Lily believed that was most probably the reason why Gryffindor had yet to lose a Quidditch cup since Potter took over as captain.

As she was busy banishing her thoughts on Quidditch and more on her Transfiguration essay, something the students behind her had said piqued her attention.

"Who does James Potter think he is? A god? He may be a hero but he's certainly not a god!" it was a male voice and he sounded rather miffed. Lily suspected he must've tried for the team, hoping for a place and tasted failure instead. Lily bit back a chuckle, she completely agreed with what he had said.

"Did you see the way he dismissed us? All we did was a little rough housing and he immediately threw us out! He probably got his position because of his father anyway." This time it was a girl and she sounded none too pleased with Potter. Lily was somber now, the mirth immediately disappearing from her system. _They have no right._

"Yeah, his old man must've bribed Dumbledore to let him on the team then again to make him Quidditch Captain. He's not even that great of a player" the boy scoffed. _Now wait just a minute!_

The girl cackled with laughter. "I hope he falls off his broom in the match against Slytherin, that'll teach him a lesson. Even his daddy dearest won't be able to save him then" something snapped within Lily's conscience. Even though she normally strayed from bad-mouthing students because it shouldn't concern her but she couldn't hold back this time. Maybe it was their traitorous remarks against Gryffindor or the blatant disrespect for someone she knew did not deserve it. Or maybe because some part of Lily _knew_ that James Potter was not that sort of person and she actually acknowledged that he's worked hard for the position. _Just maybe._

She turned sharply on her heels to look at the pair of students, recognizing their faces around the common room but did not remember their names as they were most likely from another year. When Lily had opened her mouth to speak, the words tumbled out her mouth before her brain could censor them. "How _dare_ you! You have no right and no evidence to speak of someone like that! And against a member of your own House? You both cowards who speak ill of people who are not there to defend themselves. Are you really members of Gryffindor?" Lily snorted "James Potter may be an arrogant toerag but he's ten times the person you two are!"

A two Gryffindors stared at her as if she had transfigured an extra eyeball before a stormy expression slipped on their faces. "What's it to you? We weren't even talking about you!" the girl snapped.

The boy eyed her up and down as if she were covered in filth "What? Are you Potter's whore or something? _The_ Lily Evans is a slag. See what happens if word gets out." The guy added.

"I haven't a care about what you call me. You will take back about what you said about Potter." Lily clenched her book to her chest, stubbornly refusing to back down. She didn't often yell at someone, funny how every time she raised her voice, it always had something to do with James Potter regardless of his actual presence.

"And if we don't?" the girl placed her hand on her hip haughtily.

Lily faltered. She hadn't thought of that. As she bit her lip and wracked her brains for a solution, the disrespectful twats had broken out in fits of laughter. "You're all talk! Pathetic!" the guy waved her off and took a step forward, expecting her to step aside so he and his lady friend could pass but Lily stood her ground.

"I'd rather be pathetic than a coward who haven't got the nerve to confront people with a problem" she snapped out automatically.

Dropping their brooms on the ground, the two students drew their wands with fury in their eyes. "You bitch!" the boy bellowed. But before he could so much as utter an incantation, Lily had promptly disarmed him and blocked the hex from the girl before sending her crashing into the boy with a levitation charm. She had but a moment to relish in the exhilaration the duel evoked in her until she heard a voice behind her that had her instantly regretting her actions.

"Miss Evans! What do you think you're doing?"

Lily spun so fast she had nearly gotten a whiplash. "Professor McGonagall!" she gasped her hand still gripping her wand. The head of Gryffindor house glanced behind her to the two groaning students on the ground before shooting a stern look down at a frigid Lily.

…

After spending a week after school in the company of Hagrid, it has become a habit for James to visit Hagrid's hut whenever Remus was busy with prefectorial duties and Peter was busy with extra classes while Sirius busied himself with his latest sexual conquest. His best friend had become a bit of a man-whore after he lost his virginity to Florence Shacklebolt last year. They had been seen by Bertha Jorkins who had caught them snogging heatedly behind the greenhouses and by the next day it was no longer a secret that Sirius Black was no longer a virgin.

James sighed as he tried to pay attention to what the Hogwarts gamekeeper was saying. By no means did he dislike Hagrid's company, it was a great way to pass time and Hagrid would occasionally say something of use to them on their many full moon escapades.

"So I told 'em ' _you ain't seen nothin' if you thought ah fwooper was dangerous'_ " He promptly breaks out into laughter. This, however was one of the times where James would seriously rethink his decision to come to Hagrid for entertainment. Hagrid's hearty laugh dies down and he glanced at his watch. "Oh, you two best be goin'. It's nearly sundown and I need tuh get preparin' for Lily's detention"

James' head snapped up from the table at Lily's name being used in the same sentence as 'Detention.' The bespectacled marauder blinked and made a show of cleaning out his ears. "Hagrid, I don't think I heard you correctly but did you just say Lily's detention? You wouldn't happen to mean Lily Evans, would you?" he asked. But before Hagrid could answer, frantic knocks beckoned Hagrid to his giant sized door.

"Now hu could dat be at this hour" Hagrid mumbled under his breath before pulling open the door for a panting Peter.

"Prongs! Lily's been given a detention!" he blurted out before proceeding to gasp for air.

" _What?_ "

Peter attempted to speak, lifting a finger to ask for a moment before James pushed him to sit down. "Breath, wormtail."

"I-I was just coming out from my extra class with Professor McGonagall when I heard Bertha Jorkins saying something about a duel between two fourth years and Lily so I stayed to listen" Peter paused for a few breaths. "Apparently the fourth years were saying something about you and Lily got really angry at them and when they raised their wands against them, she had them disarmed and on the floor"

The warmth of pride swelled in James' chest at the information. Had she been _defending_ him? Was she finally getting through to her? Maybe he should try asking her out again. His cheeks were beginning to hurt. Merlin's beard, was he happy.

"I ran all the way to tell you, I figured you'd want to know" Peter explained his lack of breath. James placed his hands on Peter's shoulders and squeezed.

"Thanks, wormy. I know what I'm going to do now" he said with an all too familiar grin on his face. Peter looked confused, his eyes trailing after James as his friend headed for the door. "Thanks for tea, Hagrid. Bye!"

"James? Where are you going? James!" Peter scrambled from his seat to chase after his mate. James had his scheming look and this time he had a bad feeling about it. "Prongs! Wait up!" he huffed.

"Well hurry up, Peter. I don't have all day" he said, gesturing with his hand for his friend to hurry.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Peter scaled the slope with large steps, still huffing.

"I'm going to land myself a detention" a devious grin cut across the Marauder's face.

"Y-You can't! Tomorrow's the full moon! Remus is already in the hospital wing" Peter reason.

Bollocks. He had forgotten about that.

Although the idea of spending time with Lily in detention was very tempting, but he had to put Remus first. They all needed to be there to keep werewolf Remus under control. He sighed and mentally waved goodbye to the closest thing to a date he was ever going to get with Lily. "You're right. Let's go see how Remus is doing" he said and Peter's shoulder sagged in relief.

…

Lily's heart thumped frantically against her heart. She had never served detention before. What did they make you do? Force you listen to the song of the fwooper? Feed you to the dragons? Or worst, penalize you in your next class test? The dread was settling in fast and Lily could do nothing to fend from it. She contemplated asking the Marauders to briefly explain to her what it's like, so she at least had some sort of idea. Did most detentions even take place after sundown in the forbidden forest? Unless they planned on tying her to a centaur and have them drag her around like sort of prisoner.

Groaning, Lily placed her head in her hands. She shouldn't have acted so impulsively, that was Potter's thing, not hers. But she had been so— _angry,_ it just turned out this way. She sighed and stuffed her books in her trunk. _He really is a bad influence on me._

A series of giggles turned Lily's attention to the door. Her roommates, Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes entered, talking animatedly amongst themselves before spotting her. "Not at the library today, Lily?" Marlene asked her.

Lily blushed a shameful colour of red, reluctant to answer. "I-I have detention" she mumbled under her breath.

"I told you!" Dorcas pointed at Marlene with a smug look on her face. The latter proceeded to pout and scowl.

"How was I supposed to know Bertha would be right this time? She's not a bright one, now is she?"

Lily sighed. It was worse than she had imagined. Not only were rumors spreading around her but the rumors were coming from _Bertha Jorkins_. One of the more, if not, _the_ _most_ obnoxious girls in their year. Lily had never been one to judge but even she had to admit that Bertha Jorkins had a bit of a loose mouth, although she never had a particular problem with the girl until now. "I'll see you girls later" she muttered dejectedly under her breath and slinked out the room, pausing to smile at Marlene when the girl wished her good luck.

With a heavy heart, Lily made her way down to the grounds and hoped no one was there to witness her walk of shame. As she stood outside Hagrid's hut, she had just reached up to knock on the door when it disappeared and the half-giant gamekeeper nearly ran her over.

"Oh, there ya are, Lily! Come in! I have the perfect detention planned out for ya" he ushered her in and his warm nature calms her down. Hagrid may look large and intimidating but he has the biggest heart she has ever seen on a person and the gentlest personality.

She had once gotten injured from trying to stop a gang of Marauder wannabes from hexing a group of second years in her fourth year and had twisted her ankle in the process. Hagrid appeared to break up the fight and carried her all the way to Madam Pomfrey's while telling her about the first time he gotten injured to take her mind off the pain.

 _'_ _After the fourth time me leg broke, it din' even hurt no more. Course, a gentle young lady such as yourself should ne'er 'ave tuh go through so many. 'ave to be careful playin' wit der others. Aight?'_ If anything, he was the biggest softie she had ever met both figuratively and literally. She would probably even trust him with her first born. Biting back a giggle from the strange thought, Lily wondered why she would ever need to do so.

"I heard ya did well yeh O. " he said, putting away his things as Lily stood awkwardly by the door.

"Yes, I did" she beamed but when she made no move to elaborate, Hagrid turned to smile at her.

"Dun be shy, how many O's?" Hagrid persisted.

Blushing, Lily answered "Eight O's and two E's"

Hagrid whistled lowly "Din't even know dere were that many subjects" he chuckled.

"I had consultations with the professors in my own time to learn the subjects outside my class schedules. The ministry approved of it" she added quietly.

"Good on ya, brightest of yer year, I'd say" he walked over to give her a pat, his large hand dwarfing her petite shoulders. He looked out the window and nodded "We'd best be going. I'll explain ya task to yer on the way" he said as he opened the door for her to step out. No longer afraid, Lily stepped out of the house with a smidgeon of excitement bubbling in her after a more logical voice in her mind convinced her that Hagrid would never allow anything bad to happen to her.

"We're going moon flower pickin', c'mon Fang, ya lazy beast" Hagrid whistled for his large oversized boarhound who was lounging on the chair. The dog lifted its head and padded lazily towards the door.

"Moon flowers?" Lily tilted her head in question. Barely seemed like a chore, hardly a punishment. She would've expected someone like Hagrid to come up with something more bizarre, like catching a unicorn hunter or visiting a spider den—something like that. "What for?" she asked.

Hagrid held out a small basket to her and Lily took it, struggling to keep up with his giant steps as he leads her towards the forest. "Oh, I felt like re-decorating me hut, is all. Figured I need sumthin' to freshen it up. I had Sirius and James dig fer clay de other day so I could try start tryin' out pottery." Hagrid seemed keen and somewhat excited to start.

"But why did you have me come after sundown?"

"Moon flowers in de forbidden forest are impossible to spot in der day, they only come out at night"

They come to an abrupt stop in the middle of nowhere and Lily noticed that she could no longer see Hogwarts when she turned back and the path had disappeared. She hoped Hagrid wouldn't leave her here because she hadn't been able to memorize the route back, not when everything looked the same in the dark. "Right. We'll part 'ere. Der moonflowers should be in der northern part of the forest" he pointed past her shoulder and Lily turned to follow his finger.

As he turned to walk away. "You aren't going away are you, Hagrid?" she stepped towards him, her eyes wide with concern. Hagrid turned and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Dun' worry, Fang knows the way back. I'm going to visit an old friend o' mine. When yer think yer've gathered enough, he'll take ya back. Won't ya, boy?" Hagrid leans down to give his boarhound a pat, his companion barked in response.

Still a little nervous, Lily looked at the wrinkly black dog then at Hagrid's retreating back before gathering up her Gryffindor courage and walked in the general direction Hagrid had gestured to—at least she hoped it was. She couldn't really tell the difference in in direction because every direction looked the same. Thank god Fang was well trained enough to follow her on his master's command. She wondered if Professor Dumbledore approved of the students roaming the forbidden forest with Hagrid for detention, but then again Dumbledore trusted Hagrid more than anyone. Except maybe Professor McGonagall.

A bark from Fang startled her from her thoughts and her feet automatically came to a halt. Her eyes lifted from the ground only to be entranced by the most beautiful scene she has ever seen. A clearing surrounded by darkness and trees were a field of flowers completely exposed to the moon's light. With the light of the full moon trapped in their petals, they illuminated the clearing with a pure silver glow. This was her first time seeing moon flowers looking so magical. As she approached the cleaning, she realized that they were much larger than the flowers in the muggle world. One flower was about the side of her palm, some were even bigger. Lily chose carefully, shifting through the bunches to find the largest ones, seeing as Hagrid's hut was rather large and her small basket could carry a small bouquet at most.

The sudden, sorrowful howl pierced the evening air and Lily started, dropping her basket in the process. Wolves? It sounded closer, but it didn't sound like a regular wolf, it sounded—almost human. Could it be—no, she was too far away, there's no reason for her to be able to hear it.

Something white passed through her peripheral vision and Lily turned around, gasping as she tried to spot what approached. There, within the darkness of the trees, stood two spectrals in the form of a horse. As Lily squinted, willing her eyes to take in more detail she realized that they were smaller than horses, mules most probably.

Was it a ghost? It didn't look like a ghost, they were of a different colour; whiter, purer with a more ethereal glow. She took a step forward and gasped as they began growling and their faces shifted into something more predatory—hungry. The colour of their bodies morphed along with their anatomy into a dimmer grey. Their shoulders shifted up, legs thinned from muscle to bone and hooves into long claws. They were much smaller now but Lily finally realized what they were. Gytrashes. Taking a step back, Lily prepared herself to run as soon as the opportunity presents itself but they watched her closely, separating from each other so they could flank her from both sides. She looked at where Fang was only to find that spot empty and she vaguely recalled hearing yelps in the midst of her fear. So much for well-trained.

She couldn't run, the second she turns her back on them she would be on the ground and halfway to being devoured. There was no way she could outrun them, Gytrashes were known to be extremely fast predators. Lily paused, if she knew that then there was bound to be something she learned from reading or Care of Magical Creatures classes back in fifth year, she even got an O for that subject. Biting her lip in concentration, she tried to keep an eye on the beasts while she flipped through her memory. They had circled her to the point she would have to take her eyes off one to keep an eye on the other. When her hand twitched to her wand, they sprung.

Stumbling and landing on her rear, Lily's entire body tensed in anticipation for the pain. But instead she heard a high pitched whimper. The frightened Gryffindor opened her eyes to see two Gytrashes scrambling to their feet, the hairs on their backs standing as they faced a new foe. A stag of twice their height and size and stood with its chest puffed out in a proud stance. Exhaling loudly from its nose, the stag grunted and stomped its foot as if challenging the Gytrashes to make the first move. Lily watched as the Gytrashes growled and swiped at her new ally but they could never fully touch him. Pulling her wand from her robes, she pointed at the fight and chanted the incantation in her mind. _Lumos Maxima._ A beam of light escaped the tip of her wand and exploded into a white ball of light in front of the Gytrashes, frightening them into a retreat.

Letting out an unsteady breath, Lily breathed deeply to calm her rapid heartbeats and still her body from trembles. _Light_. Gytrashes were afraid of light. Feeling slightly lightheaded from the experience, Lily let out a small laugh before pushing up to her feet. She stumbled a little, reaching out to steady herself with her hands, her fingertips brushed through the soft hair of something warm. Looking up, she sees her hand on the stag's shoulders as he turned its head to look back at her. She smiled at it, stroking the creature with gentle hands as she murmured a soft "Thank you"

She didn't even want to think about what would've happened to her if he hadn't showed up. Lily walked towards where she had dropped the basket and kneeled to pick up a few stems of moon flower that had fallen out before standing up. Looking up, she glanced back at the stag that seemed to be staring at her with a strangely humane look. Not quite sure what she was expecting, she opened her mouth to ask. "You wouldn't happen to know the way back to Hagrid's hut, would you?" feeling silly for trying to talk to an animal—hold on, was it _rolling_ its eyes at her? That wasn't very polite.

The stag exhaled from the nose as if sighing then stepped toward her. Lily blinked, allowing its approach, holding the basket against her. A habit she had with books whenever she was nervous. She stared with wide eyes until it came to a stop in front of her, its head leaning dangerously into her personal space.

From the stag, she picked up the heavy scent of musk and fresh pine, a strange but not unpleasant combination. Closing her eyes, she shared a peaceful moment with the gentle creature, taking in its soothing presence and addictive scent. When she opened her eyes she found herself staring into its dark, beady eyes. Lifting her hands slowly to make sure the stag sees it coming, she bought it up to its soft cheek and stroked it lovingly. It remained still, eyes watching her curiously and allowed her to do as she pleased. A creature so gentle she could hardly believe it had driven off two feral predators.

The thin layer of hazel surrounding its dark pupils stole her attention, she knew that colour, had seen it somewhere but she couldn't seem to be able to think of where. Another howl pierced through the air and the stag was instantly at alert, lifting its head up and looking back, it paused as if to listen before nudging her in the shoulder. Confused at first, Lily took a step back but when it nudged her shoulder again, she realized it was trying to get her to turn around. It wanted her to go back.

Helpless, she found herself whining. "But I don't know the way back"

The stag did not respond, only continued to walk before stopping to look back at her, eyes expectant. Looks like asking an animal for directions wasn't such a silly idea after all.

It was quiet. Lily thought. Well of course it was quiet, her only company was a stag. What did she expect? For him to sudden turn human and start having a swell conversation about the lovely weather they were having? With nothing to distract her with, she snuck a glance at the stag and watched as its strong shoulder muscles shifted with each step then trailed her eyes down the creature to its short fluffy tail. Without conscious thought, she slowed her steps down so she was falling back in step with her new friend's rear then before she could resist, her hand reached out and tugged at the white tuff.

The stag made a sort of indignant noise from the back of its throat and looked back to give her an accusing look. "I-I'm sorry!" She blurted, taking her hands off the hypnotic extension. "I couldn't help myself" she added meekly, feeling embarrassed. It was strange, she was talking to a stag as if it were human, although it was obvious that this stag was smarter than any animal she's ever met, however there was still no need to feel shy around the creature. But she couldn't help it. The calm, commanding aura that it gave off demanded respect and oozed pride. What a proud creature. She thought—like a certain someone she knew.

They came to the very edge of the forest and the walls of Hogwarts castle and smoke from Hagrid's hut could be seen. The stag came to a standstill and urged her forward with its muzzle. Lily allowed herself to be pushed a step forward before she couldn't resist turning around and having one last look into the creature's eyes and its heartwarming emotional gaze. Taking a cautious step forward, Lily inched forward until she was face to face with the stag, unable to resist the urge to feel the silky brown fur under her fingers. Entranced by its gaze she finally recalls where she's seen that colour of hazel.

"James" she breathed and the stag pulled back immediately, yelping as if it's been spooked.

Confused and alarmed, Lily pulled her hand back immediately and watched as her savior turned and bounded off into the darkness without so much as a backwards glance. Leaving Lily standing alone on the end of the Forbidden Forest and wondering what she had done wrong. Maybe it was jealous she uttered another man's name. Smiling at the silly thought, Lily turned and headed back towards civilisation with lighter steps.

…

Jealous? Not quite. Just the exact opposite. From the moment he saved her from being at the mercy of the Gytrashes. He's had the urge to transfigure back into James Potter to crack a joke about her not paying attention in Professor Kettleburn's class. He knew the Gytrashes in the forbidden forest never killed a person, but they weren't known for being gentle with their toys either so he saved her nonetheless.

Then she had to go and look at him like _that._ He was a goddamned deer for Merlin's sake. Why couldn't she look at James Potter like that? He's saved her a generous amount of time and all she's ever done was give him detentions and deducted points off Gryffindor. But when he saved her as a stag, she's suddenly all gratitude and affectionate smiles. It was depressing to know that he had a better chance with her as an animal than as a very single, available and not to mention, good-looking bloke by the name of James Potter.

When she uttered his given name with a breathy, sultry voice he had to summon every ounce of concentration into holding his stag form and stop himself from transforming back into James Potter on the spot. Had she figured it out? Lily was an uncommonly clever girl, he wouldn't put it past her to figure everything out. Maybe she had sensed it, from one wizard to another. Impossible. Animagi are undetectable, there is basically no difference besides their consciousness, that's why unregistered animagi were sent to Azkaban. Whether she knew or not, it did nothing to put out the pulsing dose of adrenalin and happiness bubbling in his chest when he heard her utter his real name for the first time in six years. Hope. This was hope.

…

The next morning, James woke early despite his late night and paid Remus a quick visit in the hospital wing before bounding down the steps to the Great Hall. Today would be the day. He had a good feeling about today. Yes, today would be the day Lily Evans finally agrees to go to Hogsmeade with him. Repeating the way she had said his name like a charm, he gathered his act together and strolled into the Great Hall as casually as James Potter would.

It didn't take long for him to spot her towards the front of the Gryffindor table, talking animatedly to a younger student. His stomach lurched and his lips tugged upwards into a smile before the uncontrollable urge to run his hands through his hair aroused. James Potter was nervous, no doubt. It came with being in love, he supposed.

"Evans, fancy seeing you here" he approached them with an air of smugness around him as he settled down to the open seat next to her. Lily turned her attention from the girl to look at him oddly.

"This is the dining area, Potter" she raised an eyebrow. The smugness abruptly died. _Really slick, Potter, great job you loser._ But before he could say anything to save his ego, Lily tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him as if trying to mentally dissect his face with her eyes. Feeling slightly self-conscious, he leaned away from her, swallowing thickly but unable to take his eyes off hers.

"W-What is it?" she was leaning too close for his brain to even say anything witty to annoy her. He knows she has brilliant eyes, but she didn't have to rub it in! When she grabbed him by the back of his neck, he squeaked in the most uncharacteristic way. Was she going to kiss him? Has she gone mad? Was she really going to do it? Should he just lean forward? Or would that make him a randy wanker?

"It really is the same colour" she said before pulling away abruptly. No heartwarming kiss, no love declaration. Nothing. What did she even say?

"Have you gone mad?" James blurted, his heart still threatening to slam a hole through his ribcage. "What was that for?"

Lily offered him a side long glance before shrugging "I was trying confirm something" she said, quietly.

James shoved his fingers through his hair and exhaled. "If you wanted to touch me, Evans. You need only ask" he leaned in towards her to steal a slice of her bacon, purposefully brushing against her hand and watched her expression closely when she did nothing to stop him. Her mouth was full so she didn't spare him the benefit of a worded reply but merely rolled her eyes at his usual antics.

"Seeing as no one would probably ask you" he lied, knowing that there were blokes lined up all the way out the door to have just a bit of her attention. _Nothing a few hexes wouldn't fix._ "I thought I'd give you the pleasure of going to Hogsmeade with me this weekend" he continued, absently rolling up the slice of bacon before stuffing it in his mouth, glancing at her to watch her expression.

Lily made an undignified noise and shot James a withering glare before huffing "Well, I met someone" raised her nose in the air, turning away from James who was taking a sip of Pumpkin juice out of his goblet and ended up choking instead.

"Y-You did?" he spluttered, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve, his face the epitome of dread.

Lily gave him a sickly sweet smile "Yes, and I'd much rather go to Hogsmeade with _him_ rather than you, Potter" James tilted his head to look up as she stood, his jaw slacked as he watched her bid the underclassmen goodbye before walking away.

Before she got far enough, curiosity gripped him by the throat and forced himself to ask. "When did you meet this bloke?" trying to call her bluff. He's kept a close eye on her ever since her friendship with Snape fell apart, she was either alone in the library or consulting with a professor. Unless she had taken a sudden interest in Professor Slughorn or Flitwick, James shuddered, disturbed.

She turned and smiled affectionately with the slightest mischievous twinkle in her eyes "Last night"

James stared. Even when she was gone, he continued to stare at the space where she had once occupied, gob smacked. _She couldn't mean—_ Could she?

…

 _The cold December air numbed his face as he zigzagged through the Hufflepuff defense, keeping a tight hold on the quaffle and strengthening the gripping charm in his mind. His glasses took some of the wind off his eyes and made it easier on him. The high pitched squeal of the bludger had him pulling into a barrel roll maneuver through the air, the metal ball had missed its mark but he had missed his chance to score as well. That Diggory fellow was annoyingly talented—unlike the rest of his team._

 _Smirking triumphantly as he spotted his new chaser stand-in, 3_ _rd_ _year Hestia Jones in an open position, he released his gripping charm and launched the quaffle to her. Shacklebolt beat back another well-aimed bludger from Diggory just before it managed to hit Jones and with practiced precision, his team's youngest player scored her 5_ _th_ _goal of the match._

 _He barely heard the cheers as he positioned himself in the middle of the pitch for the next quaffle to be launched. The more points they racked up, the better. The whistle went off and the quaffle was released. James surged forward as usual, but he never made it as a bludger sent him spinning out of control. He hoped one of his teammate managed to snag it._

 _…_

Blast it. Lily had spent too much time in the library, though it wasn't exactly her fault, she just hadn't expected Severus to be there. He hasn't been visiting the library quite as often after their falling out, but today he was practically _guarding_ the exit to the library, glancing around every so often. She wasn't ready for another confrontation, not when she was just beginning to get used to his absence. He probably wanted to talk again but the last few times she had refused his apology, she ended up sobbing in the girl's lavatory for over an hour.

Now, because of him, she had missed the chance to take a shower before the bathrooms were flooded with students who had just returned from watching the Quidditch match. She just hoped the prefect's bathroom wasn't occupied.

Adjusting her fluffy white bathrobe as she approached the bathroom, her spirits lifted immensely when she saw the door left ajar. _What luck!_ Pushing the door open and stepping in quickly, Lily closed the door behind her to activate the locking charm before she turned to face the room. Her heart nearly stopped beating when her eyes registered the sight before her. There was a person. With their bareback facing her. Inside the bath. And it wasn't female.

She knew it had been too good to be true. But when she tugged at the door to try and bolt before she's discovered, the large door refused budge. No way. The locking charm wouldn't deactivate to anyone besides the person who activated it—which must've been the person currently soaking up in the bubble bath.

This was _not_ happening. He was going to think she was some sort of pervert who enjoyed watching people wash themselves and then report her to the headmaster. She did _not_ want another detention in her record. She contemplated just being straight out honest to the person, explain her situation and hopefully store this embarrassing moment in her life in the back of her mind, never to be revisited again.

With her mind made up, Lily opened her mouth to call out to the oblivious individual only to stare at a muscle-riddled back with strong shoulder blades. In contrast to the pale skin, she noticed dark purpling bruises scattered all over the boy's back, some were darker than others and some just looked nastily painful. Nonetheless, it was the first naked back she's ever seen on a boy and it was doing something strange to her insides. Nervousness? Yes. Excitement and— _warmth._

The boy stood in the middle of the bath, completely still before his head of dark hair submerged under the water and surfaced just as fast as it disappeared, his muscles rippling as he lifted his arms up to push his dark hair back. The water drained from the silky locks and stuck out untidily in all directions, some curling up and some spiking. Come to think of it, she'd seen that hair before. Lily gasped before pressing an urgent hand to her mouth one second too late, the boy's muscles stiffen and his head whips around to face her.

Familiar hazel eyes stared at her, surprise flickering through them before an all too familiar twinkle of mischief shines through. A slow carnal smile spread across his features, and if it were even possible, Lily pressed her back even harder into the wall as if trying to merge with it.

"Peeping is a perverse hobby, even for you, Evans" he turned to face her completely, giving her a full vision access to his upper body, toned from years of playing quidditch. Lily found herself at a loss for words, torn between staring and looking away. _It was too warm_. Even though it was probably zero degrees outside, it was too warm in here. "Care to join me?" he chuckled deeply and Lily felt her knees go weak.

…

James had no idea _what_ possessed him to say that. Like always, he had taken advantage of his position as Quidditch Team Captain and used the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor to cool his reflexes and sooth his aching muscles after a match. With his mind running through the gameplay as he willed his body to relax, he hadn't realized that there had been someone in the room with him. When he heard the gasp, he turned to find out who was foolish enough to be caught peeping, his conscience had told him to sink into the water and drown himself. But his body remained still, unashamed of the exposure, in fact he relished in the feel of her eyes roving over his body. His stomach didn't lurch like always and his heart didn't skip a beat. Maybe it was because her presence had been censored with his lack of corrective eyewear or the fact that he had yet to slip out of his 'Captain mode' as Sirius would call it, but he wasn't nervous, not even a little.

As usual, his snide comments came naturally so he knew at least some things wouldn't change. When she didn't respond in her usual, unimpressed manner, he couldn't help pushing his chances. And before he knew it, he was asking if she wanted to join him in the bath. He was beginning to hate his poor eyesight, although he could feel the intensity of her gaze, he couldn't see her eyes. Walking to the edge of the bath, he felt for his glasses and casually slid it onto his face.

He could've laughed at her right then. Lily donned a helpless look in her eyes and her back pressed up against the wall, her hands gripped her towel to her until her knuckles were white. Unlike her knuckles, the blush on her face challenged the colour of her hair, and he admitted it felt great on his ego to see her like this. Thoroughly flushed, embarrassed and completely entranced. At least he knew, he had _some_ effect on her.

"T-The door, Potter. The locking c-charm activated when I closed the door but I wasn't the one who triggered it." She said, her voice wavering and she swallows thickly after her sentence.

He tilted his head and lifted a brow at her, teasing "And? What do you expect me to do about it? You locked yourself in here."

Lily couldn't help the lurch in her heart, eying his ministrations with the greatest interest. But his mocking words did something to quell the heat in her body and allowed her a moment of coherency. "W-Well! If you want me out of here, you'll need to come and release the charm!" she snipped.

"And if I don't?" he smirked, absently pushing a few stray locks of dark hair out of his eyes.

The heat returned twice as hot and Lily had to force herself to focus on anything but his obvious charm. It's never affected her this much before, why did it now? Was it because he was completely naked? You're a slag, Lily. Her internal voice chastised and she groaned. She forced herself to take a deep breath, the cool air filled her chest and she regained a semblance of control over herself.

"Don't be daft, Potter. Let me out." She stated firmly, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Are you sure you want me to?"

"Yes" Lily did not hesitate.

"Alright, I'm coming out now" and made a show of walking up the steps. Lily squeaked and disappeared behind the pillar by the door. The wooden door rattled and James suspected she had rammed into it in panic. Biting back a laugh, he sank back into the water and relished in the soothing warmth on his battered body. "I'm joking, Evans. Don't get your wand in a knot. I'll be out in a moment, then it's all yours"

Lily took slow, calming breaths to slow her heartbeat or she'll be at risk of bursting an artery at the pace her heart was pumping. _How dare he make fun of her like that_? It was at times like this where Lily wished she had been more adventurous as a student, more often than naught, she would overhear stories in the common room and her roommates about losing their first time in dark, exciting places. Should she have done that? She guessed she just thought she wanted her first time with someone special to her; someone she loved. Some found her foolish and naïve but a part of her continued to cling on to the idea of true love. Something out of a story book, a fairytale sort of love— _perfection_.

Yet here she was, getting all hot and bothered after looking at James Potter's defined torso, silky fair skin splattered with the right amounts of imperfection. Where was her fairytale moment now?

She snapped out of it abruptly when the telltale sound of water sloshing about in the bath reached her ears and she waited patiently against the door, hoping Potter didn't have the sick sense of humor to show up stark naked before her just to rile her up.

Resisting the urge to sigh in relief when he showed up in his dark blue bathrobe and his towel around his shoulder, he looked at her smugly before the same, slow carnal smile spread across his mouth. It was heating up fast. Was she coming down with something?

"W-What, Potter?" she attempted to sound gruff but her voice broke when she said his name.

He took a step into her personal space and leaned towards her. What was he playing at? He wasn't going to kiss her now was he? She wasn't ready for this, her heart was going to give out. Out of sheer panic and excitement, Lily's eyes snapped shut and she squeezed her eyes close in dread—or was that anticipation, she could no longer tell. Then she felt his soft breath caress her left cheek and his silky voice sent a warm pulse down her spine. "You're in the way"

Her eyes snaps open and he leaned away, looking so smug with himself she was instantly sober. Stepping away from the door, she refused to say another word as he left through the door.

As soon as the door closed and the locking charm reactivated, this time under her influence, Lily sagged to the ground, still holding on to her towel like her life depended on it. Something unpleasant stirred in her body and she spent moments trying to identify it. Was it regret? Disappointment? Had she _wanted_ James Potter to snog her right there and then? Blimey, was she actually attracted to James Potter?

…

Why, why, why? Why couldn't she see why he put himself through this? Why couldn't she see that _this_ was the winning side? That she would be much safer siding with people who were not limited by emotions. Why wouldn't she come back to him? It was driving him completely mad and Avery had been driving him up against the wall with his unnecessarily observant nature and suspicions. He barely had anytime alone and whenever he managed to find the freedom to try and talk her into his side, she downright refused to cooperate.

Had Lily always been this stubborn? No. Never with him. She always listened to him, putting his logic over her own because he had superior knowledge of the magical world so she automatically assumed his would be right. But she was too clever for her own good, bit by bit she began to change. She began doubting his opinions and second-thinking his advice. Severus knew why, Lily no longer saw him as a superior in the magical world. Why would she? She was the top of their year, although his results weren't far behind hers, her achievements were made much more outstanding because she was muggle-born.

Which brought him back to his current dilemma. If Lily continued to openly oppose the Slytherin like she did, he wasn't going to be able to save her. Avery already had too much on him to suspect his loyalties, he wasn't a fool like Mulciber but until he can prove Severus' disloyalty, he would be safe. And openly defending Lily would undoubtedly raise suspicions on him. But did she even deserve his protection? Severus ran his mind through the times he had seen her. Whether it was in class, the corridors or the Great hall. She was always with that one second year girl or one of the Marauders— more frequently James Potter than the others.

What happened to him being an arrogant toerag? James Potter was still an arrogant toerag, he was positive about that, what he wasn't sure about was whether or not Lily thought the same. Whenever he saw them together, although their interaction was usually kept brief, her eyes seemed to light up in his presence as if she enjoyed being teased—as if she were actually _mates_ with him. His grip tightened around the advanced potions textbook in his hands as he snapped the password at the grey bricks before storming into the Slytherin common room.

Three familiar heads snapped in his direction and they seemed to detect his bad mood because they smirked at him. "Bad day, Snape?" Mulciber poked.

Severus came to stand in between Mulciber and Avery who were sitting on armchairs opposite of on another and Rosier and Wilkes stood idly around them, facing the entrance, leaving Severus, who had just come in to finish their little circle. He kept his mouth firmly, he was in no mood to entertain Mulciber's usual mockery with a response.

"We were just chatting, about that Mudblood-Evans" Avery paused to watch his expression, but with practiced control over his responses, Snape remained completely apathetic, bemused even. "I think it's time we taught her a lesson" he looked to his friends as they grinned and laughed, Snape did nothing to stop them.

…

A week after her embarrassing bathroom incident, Lily was still stewing over her conflicting feelings for James Potter and generally trying to keep their interaction at a minimum without giving away too much on how uncomfortable she was around him. He had, as expected, teased her tirelessly about the incident and she had no doubt he had told the other Marauders of her embarrassing mishap because she couldn't miss the knowing looks they sent her way.

She, however, had refused to comment on anything remotely related to the subject and he eventually gave up trying to stir her up about it. There were much bigger events at hand, like Christmas. As the holidays approached, the students of Hogwarts scrambled to find appropriate gifts for their friends and family at Hogsmeade, therefore the students were particularly well-behaved at this period of time because they didn't want to be stripped of their rights to visit the village.

Lily had already gotten presents for her parents although she wasn't planning on returning this year because Petunia had specifically written her a letter telling her not to because she wanted to have her boyfriend, Vernon Dursley over for Christmas dinner and she didn't, Lily quoted _'Want your freakish nature to scare off my future-husband'_. She hadn't mentioned that part to her parents when she had sent an owl telling them she wanted to stay in Hogwarts for Christmas, mainly because she knew how much this meant to Petunia. But that didn't make it any easier for her to accept being cut out of her only sister's life like that, she supposed after years and years of trying to convince Petunia that magic was something wonderful, she became tired of fighting against her biting words and stubbornness. This was alright. Lily thought. Easier.

Tonight, she was on single patrol in the dungeon corridors. Though they don't usually assign a single person to patrol the dungeons this late at night, she had no choice because her partner, Melody Greengrass had called in sick and they had no time to reassign her another partner. She supposed it was a good thing she be left alone with her thoughts, it gave her more time to reason out her feelings for James Potter and figure out if she really was just attracted to him as a person of the opposite sex or did she actually find him charming.

He was good looking, no doubt, but she thought Remus was good-looking as well, yet her feelings for him were completely platonic. It must be because she had seen Potter naked, she was a teenager after all, and it would be a little concerning if her hormones _hadn't_ reacted to his naked torso. Naked. Dripping wet. Firm.

Lily literally shook the thoughts from her mind before she rounded the corner, willing her thoughts to continue into something more relevant. Where was she? Oh yes, she believed that recently, she had been seeing James Potter under a new light, whenever he wasn't off hexing and jinxing oblivious students, she began to reason with his actions. The pranks he would pull on the class, how happy it made some people when he and Sirius played the fool. She started to see ch-

Her mind came into a screeching halt as her mind tried to comprehend the scene before her.

 _MUDBLOOD BEWARE_

She heard footsteps and barely had time to pull out her wand in self-defense as she turned around frantically. A familiar face meets her eyes before a stunning spell hits her square on the back and darkness seeped into her mind like an unwanted thought.

…

James was just putting on the finishing touches on his Defense against the Dark Arts essay on the origin of the shielding charms and its incantations when he glanced up at the map to check on Lily's patrolling. Ever since her row with Slytherin's most likely death eaters, he's been having Remus tell him about her patrol routes so he could watch her footprints on the Marauder Map. When he found out that the Slytherin Prefect bailed on her, he opted to silently follow her with his invisibility cloak but Sirius had borrowed it without his permission again, no doubt to get himself some and his Charms essay was due tomorrow and he hadn't even started on it.

He looked up to see a second pair of footprints approach her from behind and frowned. What's Barbara Winston doing out after curfew? Lily's footprints came to a stop before a corner but Barbara continued to walk towards her. Something was wrong, Lily hasn't moved after she turned around and Barbara wasn't moving either. Maybe they were talking. James tried to convince himself that he was just being paranoid and attempted to get back to his essay. A few moments later, when he looked up to see Mulciber, Rosier and Wilkes approaching, all bets were off.

Knowing if he were to confront the Slytherins, he would need help. James ran up the steps to his dorm from the common room before promptly bursting the through the door and scanning the room for his friends. Remus was reading and Peter was fast asleep.

Remus looks up from his book to look at James in concern "What's wrong, Prongs. You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Get dressed. Evans is in trouble." He said as he moved to shove Peter off his bed. The pudgy boy landed on the floor with a thump and scrambled to get up.

"W-Wha-?" he looked around, dazed.

"Get dressed, Wormtail." He said quickly before glancing at the map once again to find Lily's name missing—along with the Slytherins and Barbara Winston.

"Fucking hell, I lost them!" He flipped furiously through the map, eyes scanning through the floors but he couldn't find them. He shouldn't have taken his eyes off the map. How the fuck did they manage to disappear that quickly?

"Search the castle floors for Evans and that second year kid she's always with. That or hex the shit out of Mulciber's gang if you see them. They've got something to do with this" James said and folded the map together before trying to leave, but Remus grabbed him by the shoulder, now fully dressed.

"Slow down, Prongs. What's going on?" when Remus pulled his beast calming voice on him, James knew he must look frantic.

"I-It's Evans. I saw her on the map, like always I was watching her patrol. Then I-" James took an exasperated breath, his chest heaving with panic. Did he really have to do this now? "There's no time!" he complained, wanting nothing to just run all over the castle in search for Lily.

Peter had now come to stand by him, looking just as concern as Remus. "You need to fill us in, you might just be paranoid. Like the last time" Remus said.

James wanted to roll his eyes, he didn't need to be reminded of the one time he had started a fight with a Ravenclaw fourth year because he saw him drop something in Lily's goblet and thought Mulciber had put him up to it. "This isn't that! She was with that second year kid and then Mulciber showed up on the map. When I came to get you guys, they were gone!"

"Completely off the map?" Peter asked.

James nodded "I checked"

"Maybe you were looking too fast. I'll stay here and check" Peter said.

An idea struck him and James walked over his Sirius's bed and pulled a small mirror out from under his pillow and tossed it at Peter, who caught it shakily. "I'll keep the other end, let me know if you see them on the map" James quickly checked himself for his wand and then the mirror before turning to Remus.

"I'll take the dungeons, you start on the first floor and we'll work our way up" he told Remus and he does nothing but nod.

…

As Lily drifted towards the edge of consciousness, only one thing came to mind. It was cold. But not the biting cold of the December weather or the chill of an autumn breeze it was—something else. She squeezed her eyes lid close to try and force some coherence into her mind and feeling into her body. Though it wasn't the first time she had been hit by a stunning spell, it didn't make it any less unpleasant. Her muscles were stiff and achy, when she tried to stretch them out, she found that she couldn't push her legs very far.

As she reached a hand to her face, her fingers brushed against something eerily cold. Lily opened her eyes to stare into the lifeless eyes of none other than Barbara Winston. Her breathing hitched and her heart seemed to stop pumping, the darkness was closing in around her and the dim made the pale skin of Barbara's face glow an unhealthy colour of white. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't blinking. She wasn't _warm._ Lily thought. With death merely inches from her face— Lily promptly lost it. She screamed and struggled to get away, but the cold bite of something metal pressed against her back every time she moved.

She couldn't get away. _She couldn't get away._ She was trapped in some sort of metal box, there was vertical room but her side was forced to press against Barbara's cold body. She couldn't find her wand anywhere on her and that alone had frightened her enough. Death blared loudly in her consciousness and fear gripped at her heart and squeezed to the point it was hurting. She refused to scream, there wasn't much air in there for her to breath and the more energy she wasted with unnecessary actions that did nothing to quell her fear, the longer it would take for her to figure a way out. She squeezed her eyes close to try and think without Barbara's death physically haunting her but as soon as she closed her eyes, death reached to her from the darkness and she jerked back violently, her eyes shooting wide open.

Her eye caught something familiar in Barbara's hand. A wand. More specifically, _her_ wand. Maybe she would be able to think properly if she had her wand but in order to get it, she needed to take it off Barbara's body. The mere thought of it made her nauseous and the sour fear burns in her chest. She couldn't do it. The tears were streaming freely down her face now. To see the sweet, innocent second year she had befriended in this state, broke something in her. Her sanity? Maybe. Her heart? _Definitely._

She scrambled onto her knees and hammered against the door, screaming for her freedom. "Let me out! Help! Someone help me!" her voice hoarse from crying. "Please! Is anyone there?" she continued to bang at the metal until her hands throbbed and ached. Then out of sheer desperation, "James!" she screamed and paused to take a shuddering breath "I'm in here! Please, James!" she cried and sobbed. The louder she screamed, the smaller the dead body behind her felt.

"Evans?" she paused at his voice on the other side of the door. Was she hallucinating? Staring forward in disbelief, she remained silent until his voice came back. He pounded back at her and called out for her again "Lily? Lily, are you in there?" he sounded out of breath.

That was the first time he's ever called her by her given name. "J-James!" she choked out, feeling a fresh batch of tears spill from her eyes.

He breathes out in relief "Oh thank heavens, Lily. Just hold on, I'll get you out of there" there was a pause and a shuffling of steps and Lily feared he had left her behind. She was about to shout in protest until she heard his incantation. "Confringo!"

She heard a blast and something metallic snapped. _Chains?_ The door gave way underneath her fingers and she stumbled out. Pulling away from death's grasp, she latched herself on to James out of sheer relief, crying into his chest at how warm he was. Compared to the cold grip of death haunting the inside of that metal box, James Potter was warm. He was alive and so comfortingly warm when he pulled her tighter against him, whispering soothing words into her ear. The slight edge in his tone went unnoticed by Lily as she clutched desperately at him. _Slytherin will pay for this._

* * *

 **A/N: Just in case you guys didn't see the first Author's Note. The SEQUEL is in my profile titled: Power the Dark Lord Knows Not.**


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